Shinigami Dispatch Association Graduation 2011
by DemonCatWithASpork
Summary: Due to a challenge issued by Grell, William must personally organize the graduation party for this year's newest shinigami, but there are only two people in the world that can help the stoic man.-Humor/AU/Crack story :D
1. The Bet

Authors: DemonCatWithASpork and DeathByCelloCase  
>Canon Characters: Grell Sutcliff, Ronald Knox, William T. Spears<p>

Welcome to the Shinigami Dispatch Association Graduation party of 2011! This 4 part story is AU in the present day. We have personally RP-ed this story and have tweaked it for your reading pleasure. Outside of our personal insertion we try to keep things as realistic as possible. The entirety of this RP lasted several months and we had a blast with it. Single quote marks surround William's thoughts.

William T. Spears poked through the wreckage with the end of his death scythe, knocking minor obstructions out of his path as he made his way through the room. Empty beer bottles and clusters of discarded plastic cups littered the floor. A number of bodies lay strewn in various positions amidst the ruins. The scene of the human party gone wrong filled the dark-haired reaper with utmost revulsion. He never understood why people took part in such frivolities. He merely wished to collect the souls on his list and move on as quickly as possible. On any other evening, he knew he could do so with no difficulty. If he had the luxury of working alone, that is. 'However, with these two as partners_—_'

William's thoughts were interrupted by the obnoxious revving of a chainsaw wielded by an even more obnoxious reaper. 'Imbecile Number One_._' William sighed, using the clipper blade of his scythe to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and waited. With a deranged, shark-toothed grin, Grell Sutcliff made a show of kicking in the door, his illegally-modified death scythe held high above his head.

"Will you ever learn to simply open the door?" William asked without bothering to turn around to face the red abomination. He looked down, closing his eyes and once more adjusting his glasses with his scythe. "Though I suppose I should be thankful you didn't use that thing to saw _through _the door."

"Oh, Will, that's preposterous!" Grell giggled and placed his death scythe on a nearby coffee table. He sauntered up behind William, pausing for only a brief moment (William guessed it was to check his reflection in his makeup compact, or something equally obscene) before walking around and presenting himself to William's expressionless face. Grell used a hand to daintily toss a lock of his crimson hair over his shoulder, flashing a toothy grin. William merely gave an icy stare and continued waiting for Sutcliff to get the inevitable out of his system.

"You know that I would never dream of behaving in such a manner," Grell went on. "That would be un-ladylike. Of course…" Grell gingerly placed his left hand upon William's suited chest and leaned forward until he was just inches away from his superior's lips. William's left eyebrow twitched, but he held his ground. "If I was ever kidnapped and, say, locked away in a tower, I'd love a _big_, _strong_ _knight_" – as he emphasized each word, he let his hand slide seductively up the front of William's suit jacket – "such as yourself to saw his way through the door and come bursting into my bedchamber." Grell's hand was just beginning to grip William's tie and pull as William smacked it away with his death scythe. Grell yelped in surprise.

"Cut the nonsense, Sutcliff," the dark-haired reaper snapped, utterly disgusted.

"Besides, Sutcliff-senpai, _you'd_ definitely be the one trying to break into William-senpai's bedroom, which I'm sure he's kept dead bolted since you two met," Ronald Knox leaned coolly against the handle of his death mower with that cocky half-smirk plastered on his face. 'Imbecile Number Two.'

__"Ronald! You are so rude!" Grell stamped his foot. "Mark my words," The redhead placed a hand on his hip and used the other to point at the blonde-haired youth. "One day, when you're older, you'll understand what it's like to be in _love_." He shivered slightly as he fondly gazed upon William.

"Maybe so, but right now, growin' up isn't at the top of my list of things to do," Ronald winked.

"Ugh! Talking to you is absolutely hopeless. I just can't get fired up at aaaall!" Grell crossed his arms, pouting.

"Fine by me," William heard the younger reaper mutter toward the wall, but whether Sutcliff heard the comment or not, he seemed to be choosing to ignore it.

William let out another sigh, "Overtime will be unavoidable once again."

William removed the large book of death records from under his right arm and promptly flipped to a bookmarked page. His perpetual scowl deepened as he ran a gloved finger down the long list of names.

"So, what happened in this place, anyway?" Grell asked, surveying the room. Ronald crouched down to the floor, picking up an empty beer bottle and examining its label.

"If you had read over the details in your death ledger, you would know," William adjusted his glasses and propped open his own ledger book. "On the eve of March eighth, several college students – headed by one Andrew Calloway – held a party in this building. The victims partook of alcohol and various illegal substances. Nine students fell victim to either alcohol poisoning or drug overdose." He glanced up from his book and scanned the room briefly before using one hand to snap the bulky "To Die" list closed. "A waste of human life, indeed."

"Pff, more like a waste of good booze! This stuff's Carling Premier!" Ronald turned the drained bottle over in his hand once more before shaking his head in disappointment and tossing it into a pile with some others. He strode over to a lounge chair. The body of a young male lay slumped lifelessly over the chair's arm. "Guess these rookies couldn't handle it, huh?"

"How trashy," the red reaper remarked.

William thought that Sutcliff ought to take another look into that mirror of his.

"I dunno, though," Ronald mused. "If I were a human and had to die, partying till the death would be pretty awesome. Like goin' out with a bang, y'know?"

"Do not say such loathsome things, Ronald Knox. Humans are utterly careless and have no respect for their own lives or the lives of others. You are a working death god. 'Partying till the death' is not in your job description."

"Aww, boss, you know I was only kidding. Besides, I don't think you of all people would know much about parties…"

"And I intend to keep it that way. I have no desire to involve myself in such senseless affairs." 'Honestly.'

"Ya' always get this real sick look on your face whenever someone attempts to invite you to an office cocktail party or somethin'. What's your deal?" A mischievous smile spread across Knox's face. He tauntingly cocked one eyebrow. "Afraid you can't handle your alc—?"

"That's quite enough out of you, Knox," William interjected sternly. "Seeing as how much you complain about your hatred of overtime, I suggest you get to work if you want to be out of this rotten establishment before dawn."

"Aw, boss! Chill! You're always on the offensive. You should really learn to take a joke, y'know?" Ronald's expression clouded over a little, but William was satisfied to see that he complied. Ronald took out his own ledger book and rode his death scythe into the next room to begin his nightly collections.

William couldn't help but notice Grell Sutcliff's silence. It was highly unusual. William really was not sure if the reaper had the ability to go more than five seconds without interjecting some sort of daft comment. In fact, he couldn't recall the last time Grell had had absolutely nothing to say. The redhead now stood leaning against the far wall, seemingly weighing his thoughts. He was now staring contemplatively at his superior. William was about to tell him to cease lazing around when Grell's expression suddenly changed from one of deliberation to a slow, horrible grin, exposing his full set of abnormally-pointed teeth. A hellish Cheshire cat…with an idea…

'Oh no.' William just stood there, bracing himself for whatever was about to be emitted from _that thing's_ red lipstick-stained mouth. The devilish imp's emerald green eyes twinkled, an irritating complement to his catlike smile.

"I'd have to agree with the Knox boy, dear Will," Grell began, his voice echoing ominously throughout the room. "You're simply not the partying type. You're a bit too…_soft_ on the inside. I suppose that's the best way of putting it." A moment passed before William again raised an eyebrow. 'Just where is he going with this one?'

"We do not have time for your rubbish, Sutcli—"

"Now, I don't really like my men soft, you see," Grell continued, unfazed. He paused a moment, seeming to drift off in thought. "But given your already _firm_ exterior, I'm suuuure you wouldn't have the slightest problem getting har—GAH!"

William's death scythe extended across the room toward the offending reaper. The blade penetrated the wall, leaving a gaping hole where his subordinate's head had been resting a fraction of a second before. Grell now sat crouched down on the floor with his arms over his head, having ducked under the incoming blow.

"All right! I'll get on with it! I promise!"

The scythe remained where it was. William silently glowered down at Grell. After no words of protest were uttered, Grell took the man's glare as permission to continue. William wished Sutcliff would hurry up and get it over with, whatever "it" was. They had already wasted a good seventeen minutes of his precious time.

"I've seen the way your demeanor changes around New Year's and other such celebratory times of the year. You become downright standoffish." He gave the dark-haired reaper a brief once-over before chuckling. "Well, more than usual, I mean. Your own coworkers are practically afraid to invite you to an office party within your own department. I can only imagine what types of torture your trainees must endure…" He hugged himself, shivering a little.

"Honestly," William retracted his death scythe to allow himself a glasses adjustment.

"I really just cannot make myself get excited about those young'uns, but I do feel sorry for them, in a way," Grell's tone suddenly became serious and he looked at his superior genuinely. "They really do work hard to earn your approval, William."

The stoic reaper shifted uncomfortably.

"Now, don't you think it'd be kind of you to show your appreciation to them for all of their hard work?"

A raised eyebrow.

"This year's class is about to graduate to become full shinigami. What if you threw them a little…party? A graduation party, to be exa—"  
>"No." William interrupted coldly. "That is ridiculous, Sutcliff. If this is about proving that I am capable of 'handling' a party, I refuse. I do not have to prove myself to you or to anyone else."<p>

"You don't need to prove yourself to me, Will. I have the utmost confidence that you can succeed in whatever you choose to pursue." Grell's words became rushed, almost urgent, "But why not do it for the kids? You're the one teaching them, after all. They are simply terrified of you, and yet they still try their best. Would it kill you to do this one little thing for them? They've been working so hard, and I know that you at least have respect for an honest effort. Surely your pride can withstand one evening."

At Grell's words, William unintentionally flashed back to his own graduation. Their instructors had not bothered with organizing anything. It had been left to the graduates, and so Grell and a few others had taken charge. William inwardly shuddered as he remembered that night. It occurred to him that he certainly did not want any other possible…"Grell-like" characters left to their own devices for the event. At least if he organized this himself, the graduation would be orderly and under his control. He could be assured that nothing would get out of hand…

William sighed heavily. There was a prolonged silence, and then: "I suppose…that may be…possible." Foreseeing the incoming onslaught of Grell's exclamation, William quickly raised his index finger before the redhead could speak. "But only because I am confident I shall be able to keep the event under control."

Grell squealed and gave a little clap. "So, you'll definitely do it, then? Promise?"

William looked down, taking a sudden interest in the systematic arrangement of the floor tiles, and nodded once. He looked up just in time to catch a glimpse of that Cheshire smirk.

"Will, do you _promise_ to organize this graduation party?"

William winced a bit before saying flatly, "Yes, Grell."

"Oh, I'm so happy you've agreed! Now, by the way…" Grell paused dramatically. William waited for the bombshell.

"You are not allowed to have help from anyone at work."

The hellish smile consumed his face.

William did not speak.

"Hmm, what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?" Grell stuck out his own tongue and laughed. "Now, Will, I thought you _liked_ working alone." Grell's face contorted into a sickeningly sweet, innocent expression.

William once again felt nauseated.

"We don't even have to tell anyone else yet. Although I'm dead certain the Knox boy would simply _love_ to know."

"S…Sutcliff…"

There was a dizzying blaze of red and the other reaper was on top of him.

"OH, WILL! I'M SO EXCITED! THIS IS GOING TO BE SO MUCH FU~UN!" Convulsing and contorting his lean body in various odd positions, Grell's arms wrapped tightly around the waist of his boss, who had just been effectively tackled to the floor.

"SUTCLIFF! GET OFF OF ME THIS _INSTANT_!"

Taking advantage of the moment, the madcap reaper was actually in the process of biting and pulling on William's shirt collar when William finally managed to maneuver his arms free just long enough to retrieve his scythe. Even in the awkward entanglement on the ground, William was able to accurately aim and stab the blade directly between Grell's eyes. He did not miss his target this time.

Grell shrieked in pain, rolling off of William and clutching his forehead. William quickly regained his footing and stood facing Grell, gripping his death scythe in case the_ thing_ attempted any more unsightly actions.

"Wiiiiilll!" Grell whined, sitting up. "You've messed up my makeup!"

William glared. He would've bashed Grell over the head for good measure if he hadn't already been bleeding profusely from the forehead. No matter. The wound would heal in a matter of minutes. 'It is a shame, however, that no amount of healing time can reconfigure the inner workings of his mind.'William grimaced, knowing that such a thing could never be. Shoving these thoughts aside, he returned to the task at hand. He had much more urgent issues to deal with.

"SENPAI! What's going on?" Ronald Knox's voice came from the adjacent room. When the young reaper reached the door frame, he stopped dead in his tracks, taking in the scene: The head of the Management Division and his boss – shirt half-unbuttoned and glasses askew – glaring down at the redhead, who was even redder due to the blood pouring out of his head. Grell's glasses had fallen and were now hanging around his neck by their chain. Despite all this, Grell was somehow still trembling in sheer ecstasy.

"Umm," Ronald began, trying to make sense of what was in front of his eyes. He awkwardly placed his right hand on the back of head. "I-I heard Sutcliff-senpai say something about 'this going to be fun'…a-and…then William-senpai yelled 'Get off of me!' an' stuff…"

William, in his stupor, mentally gave his best attempt at becoming invisible, while Grell simply shook and erupted into a fit of girlish giggles.

Ronald went pale. Looking down at Grell, his eyes widened in horror. "Holy _SHIT_! WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO?"

William did not offer any explanation. He lowered his death scythe, letting his strong arms fall limp at his sides. He looked away from Ronald's concerned and questioning eyes. At the moment, William T. Spears' only concern was what he had just gotten himself into.

Grell stopped laughing and picked himself up from the floor. He walked over to the table and picked up his chainsaw. He sauntered over to Ronald Knox, letting his hips sway sultrily as if he were an exotic dancer about to treat one of her male guests to a little something special. Grell smirked and placed his arm around Ronald's shoulder. He squeezed. The younger reaper flinched, shrinking back from the effeminate man's sudden closeness. Grell gave Ronald's shoulder a push, spinning the two around and guiding him to the nearby door. William slowly reached up with his right hand and readjusted his glasses, watching the two.

"Why don't we take a little walk outside, Ronnie, and I'll tell you about it. And don't worry," He glanced back over his shoulder at William and grinned. "I most certainly will not spare you any of the dirty details."

~ DemonCatWithASpork ~

And so here we are. We don't usually turn our RPs into fanfics. Actually, we've never done it before but the Shinigami Library's "A Party to Die For" contest was too good of an opportunity to pass up. We started this RP back before March (we aren't joking, promise). Our RPs work on real-time so these 4 parts really do encompass 4 or 5 months. A mere 3 days passed between our ending this RP and the contest being posted in the group. Too perfect and we both got to work. Through many sighs, late nights, and banging our heads against computers and/or walls, we managed to pull the story together.

Our difficultly in part 1 was coming up with a decent reason William would accept the challenge in the first place. We both ran into such difficulties when we began gathering all our texted or IM'd convos from the past months: legitimacy. DeathByCelloCase was stuck at this point and it took me a good half hour to come up with William's flashback.

Kudos to DeathByCelloCase for the research on the alcohol!

Other thoughts/sayings that occurred during read-throughs: Oh Grell, how we love your innuendos. Gotta love Ronald taking things the wrong way…

DeathByCelloCase: -Have you ever typed anything interesting when you've face-comped?

DemonCatWithASpork: -No, I comp right here. *points to spot on her laptop*

DeathByCelloCase:-You really gotta watch William's contractions…wait…

~DeathByCelloCase ~

Hey, guys and girls! Guess this is my little portion of chapter commentary. DemonCatWithASpork has already graciously typed the majority of the author's notes (thanks for putting up with me, by the way!). But yes! Here is our RP in all of its cracky glory. As I realize, it is surely not "common" fanfiction. Not at all, heh heh. ^^;

After gathering up all of our old conversations (kudos to my phone for having epic memory and being able to store all my sh*t), we decided to split up the parts. I wrote the majority of this part, with numerous instances of help from DemonCatWithASpork. Oh, and I should add that this is my first "official" fanfiction writing. Not sure you'd call this official, but still. I had fun interrupting Grell's innuendos at the opportune times. And having Ronald being all "LOLWUT?" And many thanks to DemonCatWithASpork for helping me keep William in character.

_**Interested in what happened in our actual RP? Post a question!**_


	2. Cornered

Authors: DemonCatWithASpork and DeathByCelloCase  
>Canon Characters: Grell Sutcliff, Ronald Knox, William T. Spears<p>

Enjoy and please read below for further notes.

Two months later and William was still immensely irritated. What conniving gods had pushed him to accept Sutcliff's challenge? He sat alone in his office; well after hours and no one was in the building. This was utter nonsense. William propped his elbows on the desk and pressed his face into his entwined fingers. How was he to proceed? He had already done the one thing he knew about preparing for an event such as this. William glanced at the tied-up bag that sat beside his desk. He had never thought he would ever have to buy such things that could be labeled under the heading of "party supplies" but to his chagrin he had found himself standing before a very bouncy store worker just the week before.

It had been one of his most trying experiences in which the young lady had spent most of her time trying to get William to smile. She had stated (several times) that if William was throwing a party he should be happy about it. He had done his utmost to ignore her as she led him to the proper aisle and then she had stood gaping at him, in awe of such a business-like man having to buy anything colorful like balloons or confetti. When the girl had noticed his death scythe and asked if that is what he and his guests planned on hitting a piñata with, William finally turned on her with one of his most evil glares and she had left the aisle quickly.

Damn Grell Sutcliff! Damn him to hell! That blasted restriction the redhead had added "and no help from anyone from work Will!" was what was truly driving William up the wall. At the time, William had truly believed he could host the event. After all, it was now a yearly occurrence, how hard could it really be? No one else seemed to have a problem. But William had never done anything like this before, not even to help. Parties were often attended by idiots and William would not bother himself to help with or even attend something so unprofessional. Unfortunately, since he was teaching this year's recruits, the board required him to attend their graduation party. Now that William had officially taken charge of the event, he realized he would not have been able to even organize a small get-together with friends…what friends? In William's eyes, he had none. William leaned back in his chair and sighed. Why had Grell added that one condition? He hadn't said William could not get help, just that no one from work could help him. Of course, William did not really go anywhere other than to work and his home. He knew no one outside of work…or did he?

Realization seeped into William's mind as he understood the position Grell had put him in. William glared at his desk and gripped the armrests of his chair until they groaned in protest. He wished Grell was standing before him just so he could ram his death scythe through the other's head…again. Grell knew that William would want help with something so torturous to him and he had left William with only one option: that irritating human girl and her somewhat less irritating human friend. No, that could not be his only option! But William could think of no other alternative. This was all Grell's fault. It had been Grell who had revealed himself along with the knowledge pertaining to shinigami and William did not bother to listen to Grell's excuses on the matter. Then Grell, the idiot, mentioned the girl to the Undertaker and Ronald. Undertaker had been visiting to check out a few more records from the library and upon hearing Grell's story, he had insisted upon meeting "such an interesting specimen of human life." Then things grew more complicated for William when Grell had taken Undertaker and dropped in on the new acquaintance while she had a friend visiting. After that William, out of necessity, had gone and looked up the cinematic records of both girls to see if any of their past history might lead them into making any serious mistakes with the reapers around them.

That had been several months ago. Since then, William had even had the misfortune of meeting both of them. Both girls were currently seventeen years of age. Taylor Wallace had been the first one Grell had come across and the first William had had to meet as well when Grell had decided to hide from work at her home. The child was sarcastic and completely unafraid of William-a trait that frustrated William to no end. It did not help that she often referred to him as 'senpai' just to irritate him further. Their presence had not fazed her in the slightest. Taylor often wore a smirk as if she found the whole situation totally ridiculous. Her upbeat nature annoyed William. She did not fawn over him or the other shinigami; actually she seemed pretty indifferent about his presence at the very least. She did not hesitate to push William to the very brink of his patience and would even dare to meet his steely glare with an icy look of her own. William found the friend to be much more tolerable. Lauren McGrew was a quiet girl. When she spoke, she was straightforward and matter of fact. Her own sarcasm and jokes were more subdued, wittier than that of her friend. The few times William had actually seen her, she was often pouring over some schoolbook or other paper that William understood to be work from a human academy. Lauren seemed to be a capable human being and considering Undertaker spent more time around her than Taylor, William was much more inclined to believe Lauren's trustworthiness. However, she followed her friend's habit of frequently referring to him as 'sama' or 'senpai' and also seemed rather laid-back about the presence of shinigami in her life. Unfortunately, William could not do much about any of it. He could not harm a human not on the "To Die" list, no matter how much he may have wished to.

William gritted his teeth. Was he, William T. Spears, actually considering this? He could either disgrace himself by failing at something many considered simple or…no…failure was not an option in William's book. He had agreed to the terms and even through it had been Grell who had thought of such a notion; William would not go back on his word. He eyed the brown sack beside his desk again and frowned. Its presence bothered him, constantly reminding him of what was to occur in the beginning of the next month. The bag seemed to throw off the balance of his office and he was already sick of the questions he had gotten from his subordinates pertaining to it. William rose from his seat. Nothing else could be done, he would have to resort to the only loophole Grell had left him: the humans, or rather, human. William had no desire for the Wallace girl to find out about this and he would ensure to McGrew's secrecy on the matter. The evening was still young enough that he could get the unpleasant trip out of his way that night. He picked up the bag along with his death scythe and made his way out of the building.

William arrived on the roof on Lauren's house…in the pouring rain. Would the unpleasant circumstances never cease? He swiftly descended and made his way over to her window. Through the window and the streaks on rainwater that ran down it, William could see the blurry form of Lauren sitting on her bed, laptop before her, and speaking into a phone. William's double-tap on the window drew her gaze. He saw her say something into her phone before setting it down on her bed and walking over to open the window.

"William? What are you doing here?"

William said nothing as he shoved the bag through the window into Lauren's arms before climbing in himself. Lauren looked puzzled but set the bag down and then took in the sight of a sopping wet William.

"Um…if you'll excuse me I'll be right back."

William just blinked and watched her leave and return to the room just a few seconds later with a towel that she held out to him. William did not move to take the towel.

"Would you please take the towel William? You are dripping all over my carpet."

William stared at her and Lauren sighed. She simply tossed the towel up then so that it landed on William's head and over his dripping hair.

William stood on the spot for another minute before finally saying stiffly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Now are you going to tell me why you are here so late in the evening?"

William ran the towel through his hair once before dropping it on a nearby chair. He then pointed to the tied brown bag with his death scythe.

"Keep that in a place where it will not be disturbed for a month."

Lauren blinked at the odd demand. She moved to pick up the bag, expecting William to elaborate. When she had gotten to her closet, opened the door, and William still had not said another word, Lauren asked casually,

"So...what's in the bag?"

William could not hide the hesitation and embarrassment in his voice but firmly responded, "That is none of your business."

"William, you just entrusted me to secure your belongings for a month," she spoke from the other side of the door as she made room in her closet for the item, "An explanation is not too much for me to ask."

She waited but he did not respond. She poked her head out from around the door to see what he was up to. William was standing rigidly straight, suddenly taking a great interest in his shoes as he absentmindedly carved invisible circles into the carpet with the blade of his death scythe. Several more minutes passed as William battled with his own barrier between human and shinigami and then he began slowly,

"…There was a case two months ago in which we had to collect a significant number of souls…"

Lauren frowned at his apparent change of subject but let him continue. She shut the closet door and went back to sitting on her bed.

"I will not go into detail, as it is against company policy to reveal that sort of classified information to anyone who was not involved. However, I shall explain what I can so that there will be no confusion later on the matter at hand. I will not have you asking me meaningless questions."

Lauren nodded and let his comment slide as William pushed his glasses further up his nose. He was displeased that he had to tell her anything at all but as he had concluded earlier, it was unavoidable. So speaking quickly and avoiding Lauren's eyes whenever possible, William explained what had occurred two months previously.

When he mentioned Ronald's insinuation of William's alcohol tolerance, Lauren let out a sudden laugh and said, "Oh, Ronald…"

William shot her an evil glare and opened and closed the blade on his scythe. Lauren then promptly apologized, "Sorry! Sorry, I promise to behave."

William pinched the bridge of his nose as he finished with the bit about how Grell had talked him into hosting this stupid party. Silence filled the room for a moment before Lauren spoke,

"And you told me all of this because?"

William raised his head to glare at her, "I am a man of my word. You obviously were not listening very closely. I am not to receive any help from those at work."

Lauren frowned, "But still, why come to me? Just ask someone you know who doesn't work with you."

William gave the child a flat stare until realization spread across her face.

"You…don't know anyone else…except us?"

William shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, that still doesn't explain why you are leaving that bag with me."

William sighed, "I am a busy man. I do not need _that_," he gestured to the closet where Lauren had hidden the bag, "taking up space in my home or office. I leave it to you and expect that it will come to no harm."

Lauren chuckled once, "I see."

"What is THAT supposed to mean?"

"It means 'I see', nothing more."

William scowled, "I do not appreciate being toyed with."

"I'm not toying with you! I'm just trying to TALK to you."

William released a deep sigh and adjusted his glasses in a way that also covered his face, "Dealing with humans isn't worth it."

A hurt look came to Lauren's eyes and her voice went very quiet, "You don't really think that, do you...?"

William did not respond. And then he heard a sound…a sound that seemed to be a small laugh. But there was something off about the laugh, as though it was far away, or muffled like when someone speaks into a microphone. William stared at Lauren. Except for a widening of her eyes, her face was unchanged. The laugh quickly grew louder and William glanced at the phone still sitting on Lauren's bed.

"Oh William-senpai, you _really _should visit us more often!"

The voice that came from the phone resulted in a feeling of dread pooling in William's stomach, although no one would have been able to tell. His eyes widened slightly as he realized Lauren had not ended her conversation on the phone when he had arrived at her window. He was now speaking to Taylor Wallace.

William managed to find his voice again, "Wallace! Have you—"

"Been here the whole time? Why yes I have as a matter of fact and I must say that is some story you just told."

William looked back at Lauren, "You!"

"Uh-oh, you had better grab your phone, Lauren. Before William decides to scythe it."

"Why?" William could only manage the one word.

Lauren glanced at William, then to her phone, and back to William, "Ah, well…you see William, I was already talking to Taylor on my speaker phone and when you showed up…um, well you've never stayed very long before and…uh…so when I saw you at my window I just told her to hang on until I found out what you wanted."

"And I stayed quiet knowing you were there, William! Of course, I had to leave my room several times so that my kidneys wouldn't rupture from the laughter I couldn't let you hear."

"Taylor, I don't think you are helping my case in the slightest," Lauren muttered.

William gripped his death scythe so hard that his knuckles were more than likely sheet white under his gloves.

"I did not intend for her to find out about this, Miss McGrew."

"Oh, not fair!" Taylor called from the phone, "You were going to invite Lauren to a shinigami party and not me? Grell is right, you are a cruel man!"

"Be quiet, Wallace."

"Now William, don't blame Lauren for this. After all, she has a valid point: you have never stayed more than a handful of minutes at a time. How was she supposed to know that you would be here for over half an hour tonight?"

William was very quiet for a few moments while he considered his options. For the third time that evening William realized he only had one course of action available to him. Now, both humans would have to be involved. Even if he told Taylor to stay out of this, she would find a way to entangle herself in the matter, no doubt with Grell Sutcliff's help. William finally moved, pushing his death scythe to his glasses.

"It can no longer be helped," he said and grimaced at Lauren, "I would ask that you keep her under control for this. I do not need her causing me any more trouble."

"Aw, isn't that nice?" Taylor chirped, "He trusts you to watch his stuff AND keep me in line."

"I do not trust her."

A sigh emanated from the phone, "If you are going to ask a human to stash a ton of stuff for you out of the blue, it obviously means you trust that person. Why ask Lauren to hold it for you if you did not trust her?"

"Do not say such foolish things."

Lauren quietly interjected, "William-sama, you don't have to say you trust me but Taylor has a point: why ask me at all if you didn't have some slight level of confidence?"

William had returned to a flat stare, "I have learned the hard way not to fully trust anyone, especially humans. I do not expect anyone to go above and beyond for me. However, you seemed…competent enough to not make a big deal out of this."

"About as much of a confession as we are ever likely to get I suppose…"

"Taylor, I think it's time you hung up the phone now…" Lauren eyed William's face.

"Did I make him angry again? My bad, but still William, no matter how much you say or imply your hatred toward us, we will help you out anyway. For now, I'll leave you to give Lauren the details on this graduation party. I'll talk to you again tomorrow, Lauren."

"Goodbye Taylor."

"Toodles William-senpai!"

William's eyebrow twitched as he glared at the phone. Taylor laughed again, as if she could see William's face, and the line went dead.

"Well then," Lauren said as she moved the phone to her bedside table, "do you want to go over the particulars now?"

"That will not be necessary tonight. I will return in a month's time, a week before the event at ten in the evening. That will be sufficient."

"And when is this party?" Lauren asked.

"It is to be held on June 11th."

"Alright then," Lauren smiled warmly at the stoic man, "I am glad you're letting us help you. This must have been quite difficult for you."

"Hmph."

William adjusted his glasses and turned to leave. As he got almost completely turned, he caught sight of Lauren moving slowly out of the corner of his eye. Lauren walked up side-hugged William gently. Gently, but he still couldn't move his arms because she had embraced them too. He saw what she was doing too late and uttered short, quick exclamation. His body went rigid but after she didn't let go, he sighed in defeat and relaxed just a little.

After she let go he asked, "Now was that really necessary?"

She replied, "Yes. Yes it was. Everyone needs a hug now and then."

William adjusted his glasses trying to hide his face again and Lauren grinned, "I will see you in a month then."

William gave her a silent nod as he stepped out her window.

~ DemonCatWithASpork ~

Since this is where the humans first show up I wish to say this: This is how we talk on a daily basis, truly. Our personalities and words are not exaggerated. I would say ask anyone who knows us but since you probably don't know any you will have to take our word for it. :D

I get mixed emotions when writing William. He is such a fun character to write but he is soooo stubborn! I like to believe I did well in regards to his situation in this part (considering I wrote most of this one) and thank you DeathByCelloCase for agreeing that my "death scythe piñata stick" was a stroke of awesome.

Oh we had big issues on how I was supposed to find out about the Graduation. In our actual RP something veeeery different happened and there was no way we could add the actual part in without confusing most of the world's population. The phone was the best solution we could come up with. It seemed to work and plus, I was able to torment William from a distance.

~ DeathByCelloCase: ~

I don't see too much to add on this one. Seems that DemonCatWithASpork already covered most everything here. Way to go, kid. But oh how I laughed at that death scythe piñata stick. *reminisces* Good times, good times…

I must say that I do really enjoy reading Part 2 myself. I always have to smile at the way William views us in his mind.

Oh geez, just be glad we didn't go through what actually happened in our RP in regards to how DemonCatWithASpork found out about the bet. That would be a whole different level of crack, my friend. (Yeah! I think this ups it to 3 or 4 times William has tried bashing me over the head!- DemonCatWithASpork) Although I will tell you fine readers that we _did _manage to drop a hint or two about it here and there…

_**Interested in what happened in our actual RP? Post a question!**_

Kuroshitsuji and its characters belong to the amazing Yana Toboso

We do, however, own ourselves ;)


	3. Preparations

Authors: DemonCatWithASpork and DeathByCelloCase  
>Canon Characters: Grell Sutcliff, Ronald Knox, William T. Spears<p>

Single quote marks surround Lauren's thoughts. Enjoy and please read below for further notes.

There was a double-tap on Lauren's window. She looked at her bedside clock: precisely 10pm. She grinned. Even in "unpleasant" matters such as this, William T. Spears honored his deadlines. She supposed she really couldn't expect anything less from the fellow. Lauren went to the window and opened it.

"Evening, William-senpai," she smiled politely, hoping he wasn't already in a bad mood. 'Oh, wait. He's being forced to communicate with lowly humans,' she thought to herself. 'Of course he'll be in a bad mood.' William returned the greeting by shoving the blade end of his death scythe through the window first. "…Nice to see you, too," she sighed, quickly taking a step back to allow the reaper to enter.

As William took a step inside, Lauren noticed that in the place of his "To Die" list there was a clipboard tucked securely under his right arm. Once William was inside, Lauren closed the window, for it was a rather warm June evening.

"At least we can be thankful it's not raining this time," Lauren offered, trying to cheer William up a bit. 'Well,' she supposed, 'cheering up isn't likely to happen where William is concerned.' As she expected, William paid no heed to her words, instead opting to adjust his glasses with his scythe.

Lauren walked over to her dresser, upon which she had already placed the bag of supplies William had left in her care one month previously. "We can discuss things over here, if you'd like," she said. "I cleared all my junk off of my dresser to create some work space in case you needed it. Sorry I don't have an actual desk." Lauren took a seat in one of the two chairs she had positioned in front of the dresser and gestured for William to take the other one. The stoic death god made no sound as he made his way over to the dresser. For a split second, William's eyes shifted toward the young girl's supportive smile. He looked away and quickly sat down, crossing his legs and simultaneously turning his body ever so slightly in order to avoid facing the girl directly. The tall, dark-suited businessman looked somewhat comical like that, uncomfortably clutching his scythe in one hand and the clipboard in the other, refusing to part with either object. Lauren let out a small chuckle at the sight of him. William scowled and she quickly pretended to cough.

"Please excuse me. I have asthma... Whaaat? It's true!" She insisted, in response to William's skeptical raised eyebrow.

"Honestly," he muttered, adjusting his glasses with his scythe. 'Of course. That _had_ to be the first word out of his mouth.' After an awkward pause, Lauren sniffed once.

"Umm…isn't it uncomfortable to sit in that position with your scythe jutting out like that?" Lauren asked quietly, pointing to the object in question. "You're welcome to put it down, you know...I-I hope you don't think I might do anything that would make you want to hit me with it." She gave a little nervous laugh.

"A reaper must have his death scythe on hand at all times," William responded at once. Lauren quickly nodded to indicate her comprehension. William studied her for a moment and, after a pause, pressed a button on the scythe's handle, causing it to retract to a much more compact form. He laid the scythe neatly across his lap and adjusted his glasses with his left hand.

"All righty then," Lauren clapped her hands together. "So, um, what are your…plans so far?"

William pushed his glasses even farther up the bridge of his nose and cleared his throat. As he shifted uncomfortably, a beam of light from the ceiling fixture reflected off the lenses of his glasses, masking his eyes. He flipped to the back page of his clipboard and pulled out what appeared to be a blank sheet of paper. Upon closer inspection, Lauren noticed that the date "June 11th" was written in the upper left-hand corner, along with the title "Schedule" in an elegant script across the top. William placed the paper carefully in the center of the dresser and proceeded to simply stare at it. Seeing that William wasn't offering any clarification, Lauren once again broke the silence.

"I take it you really _do_ need help, then."

William glowered down at the child briefly before glancing in the opposite direction. He gave a single nod.

"Well, that's perfectly fine. That's what you came to us for, after all." Lauren beamed. She wished Taylor were here to see the events unfold…'On second thought, that would just put him in an even worse mood.'

"Please do not remind me," William muttered, still not meeting the girl's eyes.

"Okay," Lauren began. "I guess we should start with the basics. How long will this grad party last?"

"Ideally, from 8 PM to midnight, but such events would be expected to extend beyond that time frame. Honestly," William scowled angrily, his mouth contorting as if he had just caught the odor of something rotten. "Those delinquents will surely turn the event into an all-night revelry."

By William's use of "delinquents," Lauren could guess to whom he was referring. "Heh, that makes sense. I take it Grell and Ronald will be of no help whatsoever?" She couldn't help but smirk.

William adjusted his glasses as he spoke. "Grell Sutcliff's…_terms_" –his right eyebrow twitched a little at the mention of the word – "included that I would organize this graduation party without the interference of anyone from the Association. Therefore, Sutcliff will offer no assistance. As for Ronald Knox, he barely does his _own___job," William looked disgusted. "The term 'work' is practically nonexistent in Knox's vocabulary."

"Yeah, I'm sure he'll conveniently emerge just as the party begins," Lauren chortled. William simply sighed as if he were thinking the exact same thing. "Anyway…" The teenager pondered a moment before saying, "Had you thought about serving any specific type of refreshments for this party?" She seemed unsure. William's eyes shifted momentarily to his almost-blank "schedule."

"…Not exactly."

"Well, I guess it depends on how many graduates there are this year."

"Thirty-four," the reaper answered promptly, before adding, "Not counting several other reapers – namely Sutcliff, Knox, and the like – who tend to wander in and out."

"I see," the girl nodded. "So, do you think planning for, like…I don't know, 45 even, would cover any extras? And we can just serve finger foods. No full-blown meals or anything. You could even go out and _buy_ little snacks instead of preparing them to save time." Realizing she was rambling rather rapidly now, she stopped to give the man a chance to speak.

"Hm," William placed a hand under his chin. "I suppose…that could work."

Lauren nodded encouragingly. "And you did say there would be no chaperones or anything?" Unintentionally, the girl's mind began to ponder a possible worst case scenario. She wondered exactly how…unruly these young shinigami could become.

"As _previously_ stated," William firmly annunciated his words, irritated that he had to repeat himself. "Sutcliff and Knox will be there…but I wouldn't be so bold as to count them as 'chaperones.'" He adjusted his glasses.

"I understand," Lauren nodded. "Well, Taylor and I will certainly do all that is in our meek power to help you out." She flashed the detached man an affectionate smile. William met her smile with a blank stare. After several seconds, William realized what the girl was waiting for. He acknowledged her words with a sigh and a small nod.

"Okay!" Lauren perked up, satisfied with any indication of acknowledgement she could receive. "Sooo…we can purchase some snack food to satisfy them." That was when realization struck her, "What the hell do shinigami like to snack on?"

William contemplated this for a moment before saying, "From my experience training this year's newcomers, I've discovered that the youth tend to gorge themselves on virtually anything halfway edible." He scowled and adjusted his glasses. "It is most unsightly."

Lauren's tone immediately became serious. "All teenagers are like that, William, even the human ones." She considered her words. "_Especially_ the human ones." She laughed. William only closed his eyes and looked downward, shaking his head in disgust.

"…I say cupcakes are a necessity for graduation parties," she put on her best serious face. "Chocolate ones. And vanilla, too," she added quickly. "Just in case some reapers are picky." William had produced a pen from the inside of his jacket pocket. He had then flipped to a fresh sheet of paper on his clipboard and was now hastily scribbling something down. William was taking notes. Lauren couldn't help but feel kind of…powerful. An authentic god of death – Management Division, no less – was actually takingnotes on what she – a mere human – was saying! She realized how surreal this situation was, yet it was undoubtedly happening. Her words suddenly felt very regal and importan—'No, no, no, snap out of it, you idiot, and get on with the party plans. _Honestly.'_

"And you could serve…something simple, like finger sandwiches or something, for the actual _food_ food. I don't know." She fiddled with her class ring in her hand as she tried to think. "That sound okay so far?"

The dark-haired reaper continued writing swiftly, nodding without looking up.

"All right. So, over 50 cupcakes? Geez." Another thought struck Lauren. She became visibly excited for a moment before composing herself, hoping William hadn't noticed that near-outburst. Keeping her eyes fixated on the silver ring in her hand, she mused, "If you really want to get fancy and classy, a chocolate fondue fountain would make a pretty awesome centerpiece…"

The rhythmic sound of ink pen scrawling across paper abruptly ceased. William looked up at her blankly, eyes slightly narrowed. He was not impressed.

"…Too much? Heh heh heh…" Lauren shrunk down a little in her chair.

"Keeping this as simple as possible is my goal in this rotten situation," said William frigidly.

"U-Understood, William-senpai. My apologies." Lauren flashed him a grin, but William wasn't having any of it.

"Continue." He ordered, tapping his glasses once with his free hand.

Lauren sat up straight. "Well, as far as drinks go, I guess we can just serve soda and st—Oh, wait!" She cut herself off as realization once again hit. "I'm certain that…_alcoholic beverages_ will be served instead, will they not?"

William's eyes shot daggers through her. She could not prevent herself from flinching at the unexpectedly-fierce glare.

"Regrettably," William said in a tone of utter revulsion. "I am entrusted to purchasing them."

"Oh, I didn't mean anything by it!" Lauren said, raising her hands in a supplicating gesture of apology. "I was truthfully just asking." Hastily, Lauren waved a hand through the air, signaling she wished to dismiss the subject. "Moving on. What about entertainment? Every successful party needs music."

"How would such a thing be provided?" William asked.

"Oh, I have an iHome system you could borrow."

William's brow furrowed for a moment. He narrowed his eyes and gave the child a questioning look.

"For…playing an iPod?" The girl persisted.

William simply raised an eyebrow. 'Oh, geez. He's _clueless_.'

"Well…I guess shinigami don't have iPods." She decided. "Or, at least, I can reasonably assume that _you_ don't." Lauren pointed to her nightstand, on which sat a black iHome stereo system, about the size of a dictionary. Her iPod Touch was docked in the stereo's port. William turned his head and stared at the items in question. A beam of light reflected from his lenses once more as Lauren explained.

"An iPod is a brand of MP3 player," she began, realizing William probably didn't know what that meant either. She continued anyway: "An MP3 player is a portable device that stores songs you put onto it, so you can play them wherever you travel. You can dock it in an iHome stereo system so the music plays through speakers and everyone can hear it."

"Ah" was all William offered in response. Without warning, the reaper stood and walked briskly over to the nightstand, clipboard in hand and death scythe tucked safely under his arm. He bent close to the table, inspecting the music-playing device closely. Lauren was surprised – and greatly amused – to see him take out his pen again and make a few notes. After jotting a few things down, William returned to his seat at Lauren's dresser. He turned to a different page on the clipboard.

"I will need to allot some time to set up prior to the commencement of festivities, as well." He looked up at the teen with a serious expression.

"You mean party decorations? I'm sure Taylor and I can assist you with that." Lauren's eyes drifted to the elusive bag of party supplies sitting nearby. "You have some party things in here, yes?" She was quite anxious to see what on Earth a man such as William T. Spears had managed to procure on his quest for party goods. Even after all this time, she had to stop herself from shaking her head in astonishment at the outlandish circumstances the Management Division head had gotten himself into. She couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the poor guy.

At the mention of the bag, William's demeanor suddenly changed. He could not seem to conceal his slight choke of embarrassment. He made an effort of clearing his throat. Adjusting his glasses in an obvious attempt to hide his face, he used his free hand to slide the bag across the dresser in Lauren's direction.

Lauren remembered that she had had the bag hidden in the recesses of her closet for weeks and yet still had absolutely no clue what was inside. She opened the large, brown sack and began slowly removing its contents and placing them on the dresser. The items included streamers, a package of balloons, paper plates, plastic cups, napkins, some tablecloths, and confetti. The confetti was even shaped like tiny graduation caps. Considering this was William T. Spears, head of the Management Division of the London branch of the Shinigami Dispatch Association…Lauren had to admit she was impressed. Genuinely impressed. For a brief instant, she wondered what could have been going through the man's mind as he was forced to purchase all of this stuff. '…Poor, _poor_ guy.'

"I have to say, I'm impressed," Lauren nodded appreciatively at the stash of stuff spread across her dresser. "It looks like you were able to get most every basic thing you would need. Huh." She glanced at William out of the corner of her eye and caught a glimpse of him studying her reaction intently. He had a strange expression on his face. She couldn't be positive, but it looked like…relief? Almost as if he were thinking, _Perhaps I can truly accomplish this._

"What kind of building is this being held in?" Lauren asked, changing the subject again in the hopes that William would stop staring at her with that unreadable expression. It made her uncomfortable.

It was then that William seemed to snap out of it. He hastily adjusted his glasses. "There is a large meeting hall in the Shinigami Library that is reserved for company gatherings. It will be cleared out and prepared accordingly."

"Sounds good," Lauren grinned. "We got this." William returned an unenthusiastic "Tch," looking down and pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose for the thousandth time. Lauren grinned again and chuckled at the reaction so perfectly typical of William.

"So, what time should we start decorating?" Lauren asked.

William thought for a moment. "I believe two hours preceding the party would be sufficient." He wrote 6:00pm in large script at the top of his paper and circled it. He lifted the metal clip and placed the sheet in the middle of the dresser, carefully covering up his previously failed attempt at organizing things. Lauren leaned forward to examine what he had written:

- Provide refreshments. Suggested: chocolate and vanilla cupcakes – 50+ count, finger sandwiches – 50+ count, beverages – covered.

- Entertainment. Suggested: music, via provided iPod device.

- Setup – 6:00pm:

-Clear main floor

-Decorations

-Prepare tables

-Arrange food

Lauren scanned over the list a few times, inwardly chuckling at the reaper's formalities. "Well," she said, shrugging. "At first glance, everything looks okay to me. What do you think?" William stared mutely at his own handwriting, giving an almost-unnoticeable nod of his head before saying, "It will be sufficient." He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It'll be all right, William, really. As I said, we will help in any way we can. Quit stressing." Lauren started to reach out to him to place a gentle hand on his shoulder, but hesitated. 'He wouldn't like that.' She brushed a stray piece of hair from her face instead. "Now…how are you going to acquire all this food?"

"I have wasted unforgivable amounts of time with frivolous things in the past few months," He said with contempt. "I cannot afford to jeopardize my already-tainted schedule any further." William sighed heavily, as if he was hoping that in this single exhale he could somehow release the pent-up tension resulting from the events of the previous months. William looked warily at the young girl. He wore an expression that seemed to say, _You know what I'm thinking, but I can't bear to say it out loud._

"You need me to get the food for the party, don't you?" 

William sighed and nodded once again.

"Eh, that won't be too difficult," Lauren said confidently. "Nothing on the list will be difficult to get." She paused for a moment, thinking it over. "The only problem for me would be…paying for it all…"

Without a word, William immediately reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out two folded bills. Unfolding them, he nonchalantly placed the bills in front of the human girl. Upon closer examination, Lauren's mouth dropped.

"Two one-hundred dollar bills?" Her voice cracked as she tried to silence her shriek. William merely adjusted his glasses. "W-why—?"

"The Board always provides the funding for the annual graduation party," William interrupted. "_That_" – he gestured to the money with the corner of his clipboard – "is what is left of this year's budget." His voice became particularly stern as he instructed: "Use it only for what food items are necessary."

"…Yes, Sir," Lauren nodded, reaching out and gingerly taking the cash. "So, uh…how will Taylor and I be getting transportation to the party location?"

William's facial expression was impassive. "I have arranged for Grell Sutcliff and Ronald Knox to provide your transportation. They should arrive for you both around half past 6 o'clock on the evening of June 11th, if they can manage to stay on schedule for once." The corners of his mouth curled downward, doubtful. "I will have to stay at the Library in case any last-minute problems arise." As Lauren nodded in agreement, she heard the reaper mutter under his breath, "And you can be certain that some issue i_will_/iarise."

"Gotcha. They won't mind?" 

"Quite the contrary. They are rather ecstatic to visit again. It presents those useless fools with another excuse to get out of work." William's eyes narrowed.

"Oh, them," Lauren shook her head, grinning. "Weeeell…is that about it?"

William let out a deep sigh and again pinched the bridge of his nose before saying, "Yes." Lauren frowned up at him.

"You must be dead tired," she said, hurriedly adding, "B-but no pun intended." William stood and began shuffling through his papers. He once more pressed the button on the handle of his death scythe, causing it to extend to its normal length. He promptly used it to adjust his glasses. Lauren thought that he must've been itching to do that again since he'd reluctantly retracted the weapon earlier. William took the empty bag and proceeded to place the various party items into it. Lauren caught him glancing at her out of the corner of his eye as she reached out to help him pack up the supplies.

"Fatigue is what I have grown accustomed to," William exhaled. Lauren thought she sensed a slight hint of melancholy in the death god's tone, but perhaps that was only her own weariness beginning to affect her. She frowned again. Just then, a thought crossed her mind.

"Um…would you like some coffee or something to wake you up a little? I know you're going right back to work as soon as you get home," Lauren looked down at the floor. "I only have some store-bought bottled coffee available, though. It's served cold." She peeked back up at William, judging his reaction. The tall reaper's mouth curved downward. He opened and closed the blade of his death scythe, as if doing so would help him decide. Finally, he uttered a short "Hm" and looked at the girl blankly. Taking this as a "yes," Lauren asked William to please wait for a moment while she left the room. Seconds later she returned, holding a bottled coffee. She offered it to him. He merely eyed the bottle, seeming a tad bit wary of it.

"It's not poisoned, I promise," Lauren sighed with exasperation. "Please take it. It's good stuff."

William hesitantly took the container from the girl and inspected the label. He removed the cap and sniffed the drink a little before finally bringing the rim to his lips and taking a small sip. As he took in the coffee's flavor, contemplating for a moment, he nodded. Lauren couldn't help but smirk. William was about to glare at her before something else caught his eye. William's eyes widened momentarily before he composed himself again.

"11:46?" The shinigami asked, staring at the digital clock on Lauren's stereo. "I have been here nearly two hours? _Honestly_...!" He adjusted his glasses so vehemently that for a second Lauren thought he might knock them off of his face.

"It's fine, it's fine," Lauren assured him in a calming tone. "If you leave now and hurry, I'm sure you'll be back on the London streets in no time." William looked down at the coffee bottle in his hand. He tipped the glass rim up to his mouth, this time taking a rather large swig of the beverage. Lauren had to look away while he was drinking in order to stifle her laughter. By the time she looked back at him, he was glaring at her again. He replaced the bottle's cap.

"I must leave now."

William picked up the bag of supplies and turned, making his way over to the window, which he had already opened, and was about to make his way outside when he abruptly stopped short. He turned back around to face the young human, looking like he'd just remembered something important that he needed to say. There was a bizarre look in his eyes. Apprehension? Dread, maybe. That seemed more like it. William coughed a little into his fist. His body was especially rigid as he stiffly bowed his head. Lauren waited patiently for him to speak. He remained mute.

"William-senpai?"

William moved only his eyes to peek up at the girl.

"You're welcome."

In one swift and impressive movement, William adjusted his glasses with his death scythe and turned, expertly maneuvering his body and his belongings out of the window and disappearing into the night. The open bedroom window, curtains still rustling from his swift departure, and the grinning figure of Lauren were the only lingering reminders of the presence of William T. Spears.

~ DemonCatWithASpork ~

I had very little to do with writing this part actually and served more as editor, fixing contradictions and such. There are still two parts that I always grin and chuckle at: William having to repeat himself and the chocolate fondue fountain. Both parts never cease to amuse me.

We were a little on edge about having to mention an iPod/iHome system but it was unavoidable. In our defense we didn't know at the time we would be using our RP for an actual fanfiction that people would see, so you will have to forgive that particular modern insertion.

Oy, slight issues between us on how often William is seen with the death ledger in hand. Had to actually look up an episode for that one, but luckily we just agreed that he could be carrying a clipboard for the event in this case.

~ DeathByCelloCase: ~

THAT. BAG. OF PARTY SUPPLIES. THATBAGOFPARTYSUPPLIES. I swear, it caused me to feel immeasurable amounts of stupid. I still mentally slam my head into a wall when I remember my inconsistencies concerning the bag's location. By the second paragraph, I had already contradicted myself. *headwall forever* That's what I get for procrastinating/becoming distracted/writing for around 5 straight hours until 4 in the morning. Latest I've stayed up all summer break was the night/morning I was trying to finish this before I got to see DemonCatWithASpork in person again. I admit failure on my part. Thanks to her (again) for setting me straight.

Yes, not too happy about having to mention modern technology.

But "As _previously _stated…"

…we had no clue we'd be turning this into a fic. But hey, we worked with what we had, and hopefully, the AU label will save our butts on this one. . Their mentions did annoy me, though. Our sincerest apologies. FYI, we did manage to omit the mention of two other name-brand products. (You can probably guess one of them.)

_**Interested in what happened in our actual RP? Post a question!**_

Kuroshitsuji and its characters belong to the amazing Yana Toboso

Nor do we own Apple products. We do, however, own ourselves ;)


	4. Graduation

Authors: DemonCatWithASpork and DeathByCelloCase  
>Canon Characters: Grell Sutcliff, Ronald Knox, William T. Spears<p>

Single quote marks surround Taylor's thoughts. Enjoy and please read below for further notes.

"Do you have...any idea...how difficult it is to carry 100 snack foods?" Lauren huffed as she hefted several bags in her arms.

"I could have helped y'know," Taylor laughed at how ridiculous her friend looked.

"I don't think sometimes."

Taylor merely chuckled as she worked over the centerpiece at one of the tables. She had taken it upon herself to take care of the decorating with William and Grell while Ronald helped Lauren gather the food. William, thoroughly disgusted at having only Grell and Taylor for help the first couple of hours, had watched them both like a hawk…a hawk with hedge clippers and glasses…as the decorating proceeded. William had kept an especially close eye on the two when they had discovered the confetti. He would not allow Grell to even open the bag and had made Taylor carefully distribute small amounts of the confetti evenly across the tablecloths. William had been sure to get disposable tablecloths so the confetti could be rolled up inside the cloth and make no mess later. Streamers had been hung without incident and Taylor had successfully worked the balloons in wide vases on each table for a nice and neat arrangement. Taylor figured it would be more to William's taste. William had scowled fiercely through the entirety of the decorating and did not offer more than a word or two, which was a good sign as far as Taylor was concerned. She didn't like William to know it, but she could be sensible if needed and she did not wish things to go awry…much. Taylor had bustled around the Library meeting hall ignoring William's gaze and working to make the area look presentable. The room itself was a basic square shape, typical for the reapers. A small kitchen was behind them and a bar with stools was along the right wall. In front of the bar, a dark-wooded coffee table had been placed with a couple of black leather sofas around it. The stereo system had been placed at the back wall for later use. At Grell's insistence, he was in the process of braiding Taylor's hair so it would be out of her eyes.

"Where's William-senpai?"

Taylor gestured vaguely behind her, "Back in that kitchen-y place I think."

"Ah. Better go deliver – HI GRELL! – these then."

Grell was still busy over Taylor's hair as she walked over to Lauren and he did not look up even when he gave her his boisterous greeting of, "Hiiiii Lauren-chaaa~ahn!"  
>Lauren grinned and adjusted her bags for a better grip, "TO THE KITCHEN WE GO. Ronald, you okay back there?"<p>

It was only then that Taylor noticed the reaper standing behind her human friend. Ronald, face obstructed by large containers of mini sandwiches, managed to give a muffled "Got it!"

"Oh Lord, Ron pleeease let me take some of those before you trip!"

Lauren apologized, "I would have helped him, but I kinda got my arms full with the cupcakes."

"I got it I got it," Taylor took several trays off of Ronald's teetering stack of food, but Grell kept getting in her way as he continued working with the lengthy hair, "Grell surely it does not take THAT long to braid my hair?"

Grell pouted, "Well if you would hold still!"

Lauren interjected, "I say we should focus all of our attention on helping William right now...Well, actually, I don't know how much _you_ plan on 'helping'." She eyed Grell with misgiving.  
>Taylor could hear the grin Grell made as he purred, "Oh, I'll <em>help<em> him, all right~"  
>Lauren could only shake her head sadly, "I'm sure you will, Grell. I'm. Sure. You. Will."<p>

Taylor tried to get a look at Grell behind her as she said, "Will you focus? I would like this to run smoothly."  
>Grell finally straightened, clapping his hands together and admiring his handiwork, "There! Isn't that lovely!"<br>She sighed, "I can manage my own hair thanks."

The foursome walked into kitchen to find a perturbed William flipping through papers on his clipboard. He glanced up as they entered,

"_You_."

William adjusted his glasses and a long pause settled upon the group. At his single word Lauren just gave him a wide-eyed stare. William took in the spectacle the four of them made: Lauren, her arms full with bags of food, Ronald still mostly hidden behind sandwich trays, Taylor leaning on the door frame with her share of the food, and Grell behind them, eyeing his fingernails. William sighed and adjusted his glasses again,

"Well, at least you have the food... Don't bring it here! Set it up outside on the tables. Immediately."

Grell glanced up from his nails to Lauren, "You didn't bring all those spirits over at the bar did you?"

William returned to his clipboard, "Do not be absurd, Grell. Of course they did not bring them. They are both only seventeen."

"Then who _did_ get all the drinks, Will?"

William looked to see the devilish grin creep onto Grell's face. William glowered at him, "I did, obviously."

Grell broke into a fit a giggles before replying, "Then I must commend you on your impeccable taste, truly! Albesco and even Asti Spumante for the party! Did you get the Borodino just for me?"

Taylor barely had time to blink before William's scythe shot forward. She ducked simply by reflex and Grell soon followed. He had been ready for the scythe for once and William missed, but narrowly avoided Lauren's head.

"That is enough out of you, Sutcliff. Between the lot of you, I wonder how I ever get anything done. I do not need any more time wasted."

As Taylor straightened, she rolled her eyes, "Sheeeesh, William relax, we still have 15 minutes."

Upon hearing the words, William grabbed Ronald's arm to look at his watch.

"HEY! Not cool, boss! You're gonna' make me drop your precious food." Ronald's load wobbled dangerously.

Lauren gestured with her shoulder back out the kitchen door, "Forget it. Let's just set up before he bursts a blood vessel or something."

William shot Lauren a glare as Taylor scampered out of the kitchen and shouted back, "Deep breaths senpai!"

Lauren carefully placed the food trays on the main table and opened them, "Looks like William already got the plates and plastic-ware out. Hmm…We need some setting the table music."  
>Ronald and Taylor gave her questioning looks as they set down their own trays. Lauren brought out her iPod and ran over to the stereo to set up the music they would have for the evening.<p>

Taylor grinned at her music choice as she finished preparing the buffet-like table. William swiftly poked his head out of the kitchen and adjusted his glasses before disappearing again. At this, Lauren had to face a wall so as to try and hide her stifled laughter while Ronald just let loose a jocular laugh. Taylor smiled at the proceedings. 'Things seem to be going along quite nicely, William shouldn't worry so much.' As her eyes fell upon the coffee table setup, she got an interesting idea,

"OH! Gimme about twelve of those cupcakes!"

William's shout came from the kitchen, "THAT FOOD IS NOT FOR YOU, MISS WALLACE."

"I'M NOT GONNA EAT 'EM!' She shouted back and glared at the wall she knew Will was behind.

Lauren gave her a slight frown and tilted her head to the side, "What do you want them for?"

Taylor giggled and whispered so William wouldn't hear, "Cupcake tower over on that coffee table!" "Niiiiiice!" Ron gave a big grin and Lauren eagerly agreed.

Taylor gathered the cupcakes, chocolate of course, and as she was arranging them she glanced at her watch, "Oy! We only have about three minutes left. And I highly approve of the mood music Lauren!"

"Mmm, I must agree with her," Grell sighed contentedly and swayed a little to the tune.

"Good! I plan on doing this mood music for the rest of the night."

"Fantastic!" Ronald said, still beaming.

"That was the 'setting the table' music. It shall switch to party music when the appropriate time comes."

After the song had ended, Grell plopped himself down at one of the tables as he waited for time to pass. A worrisome thought struck Taylor and she called to him,

"Grell, do the shinigami know we're here? The humans I mean."

Grell leaned back, folding his hands behind his head, "Hmmm... You know, I couldn't say..."

Lauren and Taylor exchanged a worried look before Taylor called to Ronald,

"Rooonnie? Pleeeeease tell me you let it slip?"

"M-maybe William-sama told them?" Lauren looked doubtful.

Ronald shook his head, "I was given strict instructions to keep this on the DL."

Taylor let out a squeak of alarm. She was never good with parties to begin with and having 30 or so shinigami graduates staring at a human her was not something she was particularly looking forward to. She had hoped the graduates would have at least been told about them. 'Damn you William…' she cursed to herself.

Lauren saw Taylor's worry and tried to calm her, "Chill, we'll be fine. This means it's the perfect opportunity to introduce ourselves as William's...FRIENDS. Heheheh..."

Taylor gave her a sarcastic look that said 'yeah right' and sighed, "I'm sure that would go over well considering most of them probably agree that William couldn't have that stick farther up his—" she saw Will exit the kitchen, "-aaaassuming they don't eat everything! I mean look at all this stuff!"

Lauren and Ronald looked confused until they spotted William.

"I am so glad you're my friend," Lauren grinned.  
>William stopped in his tracks to glare for a minute before adjusting his glasses, shaking his head slowly, and walking over to open the doors.<br>Ron whispered to the two of them, "And _I'm_ so glad you guys are here!"  
>Lauren beamed, "Hooray, it's like a love fest!"<p>

Taylor looked around quickly, "Careful saying that around the redhead!...Where is he anyway…"  
>Lauren looked around too and nodded before saying, "Probably went to touch up his makeup."<p>

"Ah yes!"

Soon, the slight murmur of a crowd could be heard near the door. Taylor looked around quickly once more as nervousness settled in her stomach.

"Damn! Grell isn't out here to hide behind!" She debated for a moment before going with her easiest choice of communication-yelling very loudly,

"GRELL! GET OUT HE—NYEH!"

She nearly jumped out of her skin as a red blur came flying from...the ceiling?

Lauren looked upwards, a hint of disbelief on her face, "I'm not even going to ask."  
>"It's best not to," Ronald affirmed with some vigorous nodding of his head.<p>

Taylor wasted no time in dashing behind the red man. Peeking out from behind his right arm, she asked, "Where's William?"

Lauren looked around a moment before pointing, "Over at the door...I guess we should just stay here..."

Taylor gave a fervent nod, "I AM COOL WITH THAT." She did not notice the volume behind her words.

Ronald frowned in concern. He bent down to the much shorter human's height and gave her one of his rare serious looks, "Heeey, chill. You all right?"

Taylor was mostly squeaking as she tried to brush her nerves aside. "I'll be fiiine! FINE! Grell stop laughing!" For the reaper was shaking with mirth at the distress of his little friend.

Grell looked down at her, "But I have to! I've never seen you so stirred up and you should see your face…"

Lauren shrugged, "Apparently, she tends to get like...this," she gestured at the other girl who had her wide eyes fixed on the open double doors that were the room's main entrance, "I'm not the greatest with parties myself," she admitted.

"Ah. Well, I'll watch out for ya!" Ron went back to a big grin and clapped Lauren on the back.  
>Lauren staggered under the unsuspected contact, "Thanks, Ronnie, but we all know there's a 99% chance you will be at least moderately intoxicated before this is over."<p>

Ronald kept grinning and did not deny the claim, "Aww come on! Gimme a chance?"  
>Lauren took another look at her human friend and shook her head, "I don't think I would push her at this point. Heh heh..."<p>

Taylor kept whispering, "I'll be fine!" over and over again mostly to herself before her breath hitched and she said very quietly, "...They…are here...!"  
>Lauren did a dramatic head turn as she jokingly mocked her friend, "Ooooh, 'they.'"<p>

Taylor tried to concentrate on her breathing as she waited to be noticed – 'Breathe in and out,' – although she personally hoped she wouldn't be noticed due to the red mass she was still hiding behind – 'In and out.'

Ronald raised his hand in greeting as he recognized one of the reapers, "HEY, MAN!" Lauren froze a moment as the graduate reaper waved back and attention was briefly brought to the small group. She gave a nervous chuckle. Seeing her face, Taylor glared at her, "See? I don't see _you_ doing much better."  
>Ronald saw Lauren's face and gave a sheepish grin as he scratched behind his head, "Oh, sorry! It's just...I know his older sister, too..."<br>Lauren face-palmed, "Oh, Ronald."

Taylor was still hiding behind Grell, grateful for his patience with her. Of course, she knew he was still standing with her because he did not really have any other pressing matters to attend to. Other than his desire to follow William everywhere, Grell seemed content. Taylor also knew that not even Grell would cross William too much with the party just getting underway. Already the graduate reapers were gathering around the bar and tables, laughing and discussing their first soul collections. As the reapers, all in black suits, filed in and began gathering food on their plates, Taylor poked Lauren, "Hey Lauren? See any female reapers?"

Lauren scanned the room, "Hmmm...Not yet."  
>Taylor's spirits sank. She had thought that maybe among all the gathered reapers they might get to actually see some female ones for once, "Kaaay...I was just curious."<br>"I'll be on the lookout."  
>Ronald's face lit up, "ME TOO!" Taylor and Lauren both face-palmed and Ronald laughed again.<br>Finally Grell shifted and glanced back at Taylor, "Taylor dear, you realize you _are_ going to have to let go of my coat sometime?"

Taylor grimaced, "Ugh. Don't call me 'dear' Grell! That sounds way too weird for me."

"Then, let go of my coat—"

"Well, I'm gonna go ask William if he needs anything, I think..." Lauren said.  
>"Dude, you haven't started the party music," Ronald reminded her.<br>"I will, I will."

"Yes do that." Taylor grinned.

"Which one? Both?"

"How bout yooooou get the music and IIIII'll go to William?"

"Oh, will you? Aloooooone?" Lauren winked and nudged her.  
>Taylor nodded firmly, "Have to move at some point I suppose. Besides, if I have a definite destination I can slink along the walls."<p>

Lauren shook her head sadly and laughed, then turned to Ronald,

"Shall I go over and start the party music now?"  
>Ronald gave her a wink, "Yeah, I'll escort you."<p>

Taylor waved them off, "And off you go Grell, I'll be back!" 'Just go Taylor,' she told herself, 'don't look, just go, walking…walking…almost there!' Then one of the reapers sitting at a table got a good look at her as she walked by, doing a double take as he realized the girl was not wearing a suit or wearing any glasses.

"Hey! Is that?...Dude!" the reaper elbowed one of his friends nearby, "That's a human isn't it?"

Taylor overheard the exchange and inwardly panicked as she tried to keep a straight face and keep walking. She continued to talk to herself to keep calm even though the reapers were now following her, 'Almost there! Ignore them!'

"William-senpai!" she called out with a grin as she dove behind his conveniently tall form.  
>"Miss Wallace what is it? I do not have the time to deal with you."<br>"N-Ne-Need anything done?"

William flipped through the roster in his hand and adjusted his glasses with his death scythe, "I suppose not at the moment," He glanced down, irritated at the human girl. "And just why are you slinking around like that?"

Taylor gave him a big grin, "No reason!"  
>She ducked behind him again as the other reapers reached them, "Senpai! Is that a human?"<br>William looked back down at her and light flashed across his glasses, "Oh..."

The first reaper looked at his friend, "I _told_ you I saw a human! What is she doing here?"  
>Taylor watched as William tried to find a reasonable explanation for her presence and the reapers whispered to each other, "Is he okay...?"<p>

Taylor, realizing William was going to be of no help in this particular situation, plucked up her courage and let out a small cough, "He's fine, I promise..."

Over by the stereo, Lauren fumbled with the connections to get the music started again when she heard Ronald begin to snicker and say, "Oh man, this is great."  
>"What?"<br>Ronald pointed out the pair of reapers confronting William and Taylor near the door.  
>"Oh shit..."<p>

The reaper on her right tried to get a better look at Taylor though his glasses, "Um...hello, Miss."  
>The other reaper folded his arms, "If you don't mind my asking...why is...<em>your<em> kind here?"

Taylor face-palmed at hearing the term 'your kind' aimed at herself. It gave her a slight sense of vertigo, "Can I make a _very_ long story short and just say that I know your bosses? Um…"

Lauren, having finished fiddling with the sound system, trotted over to randomly interject in the middle of the awkward conversation, "Heeey, guuuys... Ahehheh..."

Taylor was utterly relieved, "Oh thank death gods!"

The left reaper blinked in astonishment. "What did you just say?"  
>Taylor ignored the question. She moved to stand beside Lauren. The reapers stared in disbelief at the two females.<p>

"Two of 'em?"

"Yes," Lauren said quickly, "and I can promise you there are no more than two here tonight."  
>"Just us two!" Taylor nodded, "Where did Grell go? I need him!"<p>

The reapers tried to get a grasp of the situation. The one on the left asked, "is anyone gonna' explain anything?"

Taylor gave the reaper a big nervous grin and spoke quite loudly, "NOPE!"  
>The first reaper looked even more puzzled, "You know Sutcliff-senpai?"<br>"Lauren I'm looosing iiit!" Taylor whispered to her friend.

Lauren patted Taylor on the head and made sure she kept breathing as she turned to the two reapers, "OKAY, here's the story..."

During this entire transaction, William had been standing nearby, his pride not allowing him to admit that he had resorted to human help. Although, he suspected Grell had pushed him into this corner deliberately. William would just have to make him pay later. For the moment, William was just trying his best to become transparent. Seeing his obvious discomfort, Taylor decided to help the reaper manager out for once,  
>"Oy! There isn't something burning is there?"<br>William merely raised an eyebrow at her.  
>'Can the man not take a hint?' She tried again and pointed, "In the kitcheeeen?"<br>William shifted before replying, "Oh, yes I'll go see to that."

Lauren watched William go and shook her head, "Honestly." Her eyes went wide; she realized too late what she had just said and clapped her hand over her mouth.  
>Now it was the reapers' turns for wide eyed stares and the one on the right turned to his companion, "Did she just say what I think she said?"<br>The second reaper ran his hand through his hair and shook his head. "This is too weird..."  
>Lauren tried to change the subject, "ANYWAY!"<p>

Taylor gave a loud laugh before she noticed several other reapers in the room were glancing in their direction.  
>"Um, Lauren? I thiiiiiink we are drawing a bit of attention..."<p>

Lauren tried to ignore her and focus on dealing with the two reapers in front of them, "Hhhhhhi. Um, I'm Lauren, and this is Taylor...Nice to meet you. You see, Taylor is good friends with Grell, and me and Undertaker are friends, too. We're kinda' all friends with each other..." She glanced around as she tried to find the right words, "Oh dear..."

Taylor leaned over and muttered in Lauren's ear, "We are soooooo gonna confuse them more."

"Well, we OBVIOUSLY weren't getting anywhere with you or William, now, were we?"

Taylor hung her head and coughed in embarrassment, "I am ashamed…sorry."

The left reaper spoke up, "Wait wait wait, back up... You're FRIENDS with shinigami?" He turned to his companion, "I didn't think humans were this odd..."

Taylor's immediate and nervous responses started, "I'm afraid many of us are yes. Odd, not friends I mean. But yes! We are friends! Everything is good!"

"Well, if you want my honest opinion...any humans who can make friends with reapers are pretty legit."

Lauren grinned and spoke to herself, "Yes he just used the word 'legit' ahahaha!" Then she noticed her friend's face as well as the reapers'. "I'm shutting up now."

Taylor sighed, "This is too much for me. I need a sandwich." She turned to go but immediately stopped.  
>"Lauren..."<p>

"Yeeees?"

"They are all looking at us Lauren! All of them!"  
>Lauren looked up to see what Taylor saw and threw a little wave at the sea of reapers, "Oh wait...hmm, that's a lot...of eyes..."<br>Taylor let out a small and nervous chuckle before throwing her own even smaller wave at the mass, "A lot of green eyes..."

Lauren hissed through her teeth as she plastered a giant fake smile to her face, "Why did you send William away again?"  
>Taylor grinned, "Easily fixed!" She ran over to the kitchen door and all the vibrant green eyes followed her movement. She shouted right outside the door, "WILLIAM-SENPAI! GRELL IS ON THE CHANDELIER AGAIN!" She couldn't help but glance up to make sure her statement wasn't really true.<br>William stormed out of kitchen, "SUTCLI—!" He stopped short as he noticed all the eyes that were on the human girl and him.  
>"There we go! Now Lauren, would you come here pleeease and William would you please explain things to everyone since we are failing miserably, you being the management head and all?"<p>

William managed to adjust his glasses one more time before walking to the center of the suddenly-silent room. His shoes made a firm and deliberate clicking sound as he walked. "Everyone, if I could please have your attention for a moment..."

Silence.

"Peculiar as it may seem, these two...humans...are here for a reason. They are...acquaintances of Grell Sutcliff and" – here, light flashed across his glasses – "The Undertaker."  
>There were several expressions of shock and mumbling from a number of reapers. One reaper raised his hand.<p>

"Who's Undert—MMF!" He was quickly silenced by two reapers who knew William all too well. They both grinned as they shoved their fellow reaper under the table.

William raised an eyebrow, "To continue... As much as I hate to admit it, Reaper Sutcliff and I have a small bet going on. I was required to personally direct the annual graduation party. Usually, I would avoid such rubbish at all costs. However, I am a man of my word," He again adjusted his glasses, "and here I stand before you this evening..."

Taylor threw up her hand to wave to the head of the Management Division, "Thank you William-senpai!"

"Hm. In any event, they have agreed to assist me in the preparations of your graduation party, mainly because no one else would ever _dream _of offering assistance." He glared at Grell and Ronald, who were chilling in a back corner near the bar.  
>Grell snickered, "Oh, Wiru, it's so much fun to watch you <em>struggle<em>~"  
>"Oh yes...'WIRU'-senpai." Ronald let out a hearty laugh.<br>"You see my point," William muttered in disgust. Then he turned to the two humans behind him, "You may introduce yourselves now."

Taylor paled at the words but with a nudge from Lauren she stepped forward, "III...I'm Taylor aaaand I'm the human who knows Grell...over there," she gestured to the back corner and many eyes shifted in that direction. Grell just kept up his sharp grin and waved at the crowd. "And um...this is my friend...buddy...pal...person...go nuts sweetie..." By her final word, Taylor's voice was barely a whisper.  
>Lauren reached out to hold the girl steady. She looked rather faint. "Um, hiiii...I'm Lauren...and I know Undertaker...and stuff...and yeah."<p>

"Aaaaand we brought the food..." Taylor managed to say.

Lauren whispered in her ear, "That should get 'em...maybe..."

"...and decorated and...stuff."

Lauren looked around, "Well, tried at least. Oh, and we are going to help UN-decorate too...I promise, William."

Taylor nodded and whispered an apology to Lauren, "Good lord, I really didn't think I'd do THIS badly."

Several reapers began to nod and murmur between themselves when one stood up and walked toward the two girls. Silence again permeated the room as everyone watched. With all the reapers in the same customary suits, their individual looks mostly just blended together. None of them had gotten their customized glasses from Father either, so really, the only thing that separated them individually were their hair styles. The reaper that stood before the two girls had short, spiky blonde hair. Upon reaching them, the reaper looked down and raised an eyebrow at the sickened look of Taylor's face. Gently, he placed a sandwich in her hands and smiled, "Dude, relax. If you are friends with the bosses then you're okay by us. Now eat something before you fall over."  
>"See? They're cool!" although Lauren was secretly relieved too. She and Taylor did not fear harm from the reapers, – that would be absurd – but meeting so many reapers at one time was rather nerve-wracking.<p>

Taylor finally took a breath; she did not know how long she had been holding it, "Thanks...um?"  
>"Leopold, although most just call me Leo."<p>

Lauren nodded, "Lovely name."

Still a bit pale, Taylor pointed over to the corner where Grell and Ronald were observing the goings on, "I'm gonna…go over there now."

Leo looked at Lauren as Taylor walked off, "She gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I think so. She's just a bit nervous. I am a little too, actually."  
>"No reason to be. It's just as strange for us to be interacting so openly with humans."<br>"I can imagine..."  
>Leo grinned and turned to call the same two reapers who had confronted William, who were lingering nearby, "Hey guys, come say hi!"<p>

The two walked over and introduced themselves as Isaac and Jasper. Jasper had his brown hair slicked back while Isaac had let his black hair fall shaggily around his face.  
>During the introductions Lauren suddenly remembered, "Oh! I got distracted with the disruption earlier! I meant to put on some music. If you'll excuse me, I'll go play some...stuff...yes."<p>

As Taylor reached the shinigami in the corner, Grell gave her a toothy grin, "Oh myyy, you look much worse up close!"  
>The girl grimaced, "Thanks Grell."<br>Ronald laughed before taking a large gulp from his beer glass, "Like Leo said Taylor, relax! Have some fun!"  
>Taylor sighed, "I'll be alright," and she nibbled on her sandwich.<p>

Several minutes passed in which the three watched the shinigami graduates. True to form, Ronald drained some kind of alcoholic beverage every few minutes and added considerable life to the party. Tension had relaxed significantly and everyone was enjoying themselves. Taylor looked over at Grell who was sitting with both his arms and legs crossed and staring blankly into space. She nudged the reaper to get his attention,

"What's up with you? It's not like you to be so languid at a party. Have a drink. You should be enjoying yourself."

Grell shrugged and folded his hands behind his head, "The graduates this year are only so-so. We used to get some spunk back in the day, but our newcomers really lack any imagination. I'm not very good with kids anyway."  
>"Nonsense! A few glasses of wine will take care of that! Come on, I shouldn't have to coax you into this, that's just not right," she let out a quiet laugh.<p>

Grell eyed his strange human acquaintance, "Hmm, alright but let me fix that one bit of your hair."

Taylor shoved Grell out of his seat, "GO already!"

Lauren, having set up a stream of music, spotted Taylor and strode over to her, "How you doing?" she grinned.  
>Taylor returned the smile, "Better, much better. I need to get out more..."<p>

"Me too…Where's the blonde one?"

Taylor scanned the crowd of reapers, "I was about to say, I just lost sight of Grell. Are he and Ron drunk yet?"

"I wouldn't know. I don't even know where they are."

Taylor stood up and craned her neck to get a better view of the crowd, "How can I not see a giant blob of red?"  
>"Well, I'm tired so colors are kind of running together for me."<br>Taylor laughed, "You should have a cupcake"  
>Lauren eyed the chocolate on the nearby table, "They do look rather tasty."<br>"Might give you a sugar boost, I ate some already myself and see? I am now calm."  
>"Mmm, sugar….wait," Lauren looked at her friend, "Sugar equals a calming effect. New math?" She pondered a moment before nodding, "New math."<p>

Taylor spotted a rather rambunctious group of reapers that surrounded the coffee table, "Well, the reapers are enjoying themselves. My cupcake tower was a hit."

Lauren swiped a couple cupcakes from the buffet table, "Yes! Cupcakes."

Taylor turned so that she and Lauren were facing each other. From over Lauren's shoulder, Taylor finally spotted the mass of red she had been looking for just minutes before. Her eyes widened, "Oh no..."  
>Lauren began to turn slowly in the direction of Taylor's "oh crap" glance.<br>"Don't look!"

Lauren quickly covered her eyes, "Whyyyyyy?"

"I thought we might avoid a table dance...I was wrong," Taylor winced.  
>"Oh, you know I have to look now..."<p>

"Don't!"

Grell had obviously succumbed to whatever alcohol he had consumed. Several of the graduate reapers stared in open-mouthed amazement as their superior danced his heart out. Ronald, standing nearby, raised his latest mug of beer into the air and cheered his senpai on. William was nowhere to be seen.  
>Taylor could only stand rooted to the spot, just as transfixed as the other reapers, "The hips...his ass...damn he can dance…"<br>Lauren grimaced at her, "Did you really just say that?"  
>Taylor tried to look somewhere, anywhere, other than the table upon which Grell was dancing, "Must...look away!"<br>Lauren finally turned despite her friend's warnings to see what exactly the reaper was doing. At the sight of Grell's swaying hips and vibrant hair flaring out around him, Lauren looked down at the baked good she still held in her hand, "WHAT WENT IN THESE CUPCAKES?"

Taylor finally managed to focus on a different group of reapers off to her right, "Is it just me or..." She pointed to the group of reapers sitting on the sofas around the coffee table, "Are they trying to make their own cupcake towers?"

Lauren looked over as well, "Oooh, you're right. You trendsetter you."

Taylor promptly face-palmed as Lauren laughed at her. Taylor looked back up, "You see Will anywhere?"

"No... I could go look for him," Lauren offered.

Taylor spotted a flash of two-toned hair color amongst the reapers at the coffee table, "Well I found Ronnie," Taylor grabbed another sandwich, feeling much more at ease. Lauren followed Taylor as she walked nonchalantly over to the group of reapers. Taylor heaved herself up onto the edge so she was now perched, gargoyle-like, on the back of the black leather sofa where she could easily watch the shinigami over the cupcakes.  
>Ronald looked up and flashed a dazzling smile at her, "What's up? How ya feeling?"<p>

The other shinigami looked up to notice the human hovering over them.  
>Taylor waved, "Hi Ronald. I'm fine now, thanks." She returned the reapers' stares with her own and grinned, "What?"<p>

Lauren poked her in the shoulder, "I'm going to do some exploring and maybe find William-senpai on the way, I think. You gonna be all right now? I feel the need to do some things, but I'll be back."

Taylor looked away from the glowing green eyes, "Eh? Yeah, I'm fine now," she laughed, "The initial shock has passed. Although it might come back if I can't keep Grell off the furniture," she glanced down at her own position on top of the sofa, "Although I'm one to talk."  
>Lauren smiled, "You don't have to watch him this time y'know. We aren't in the human world. Let him go loose."<p>

"Well, I would rather Will not hit me again...or try to." She winked.

"Well then, I'll be back in a bit." Lauren waved as she walked off.

Taylor returned her attention to the four shinigami who had gone back to stacking the cupcakes. Ronald was lounging with yet another beer in hand. All of them had short hair. Two of them were brunettes, one black, and the other, bleach blonde. Taylor eyed the cupcakes, "Enjoying yourselves?"  
>One of the brunettes piped up, "Yeah! We're trying to see who can make the tallest tower out of them! Oh I'm Henry! And they're Jake, Evan, and Frederick." He pointed first to the bleach blonde reaper, then the black-haired one, and finally the other brunette.<p>

Taylor nodded a greeting to each in turn.  
>Between swigs of alcohol Ronald chimed in, "She's the one who knows Grell-senpai."<br>Henry's head popped up, "Oh yeah!"

Jake stared curiously at the human, "How did you manage that one?"  
>Taylor shifted uncomfortably from her perch on the sofa, "Eeh...well..."<br>Ronald cocked his head to the side, "Y'know, I never really thought about that! How did you meet him?"  
>She tried to evade the subject, "Um...that's kind of an awkward story."<br>Several eyebrows rose at her words.  
>"NO! NOT like that!" Taylor quickly assured them as she realized her mistake. Ronald burst into uncontrollable laughter as Taylor shot him a glare, "Hush."<p>

She looked back at the graduate reapers, "I'd rather not go into details. I was out one night and I happened across him."  
>Ronald shook his head at her cheesy evasion, "Aaaw come on Taylor! You can tell us!"<br>She sighed as she saw no immediate escape from the explanation. It was a stupid story anyway, and she felt silly having to tell anyone. She tried to be vague, "He surprised me, he got injured, and I brought him inside so I could help fix up the wound."  
>Frederick looked puzzled, "But why did you randomly help him?"<br>Taylor tried not to meet their eyes, "Eeeeh...I may have...given him...that…wound."  
>Ronald choked on his mouthful of beer as the other reapers let out exclamations of disbelief and a collective "Whaaaat?"<br>Taylor then heard her phone ding, signaling a text, and she jumped at the chance to get away, "AHA! Excuse me, I gotta take this!" and she hopped off the sofa and scurried away, leaving the reapers to stare in bewilderment at her retreating form.

Henry looked at his fellows, "_That_ little human injured Grell-senpai?"  
>Evan shook his head slowly, "Hard to believe, considering humans don't have any power..."<br>Ronald downed the rest of his drink hoping it would steady him, "Don't look at me guys, I'm just as stumped…"

**The following took place via phone:**

((Lauren: How's everything going?))

((Taylor: Oh thank goodness, an excuse to stop talking! You just saved me my friend. Ron, Jake, Frederick, Henry, and Evan all wanted to know how I met Grell o_O))

((Lauren: *literal stifled laugh*))

((Taylor: Well now they are seriously confused. At least I can nonchalantly walk away now and find Grell))

((Lauren: Confused by what, your sudden need for departure? *realizes* I bet a bunch of them have never seen/owned a cell phone…))

((Taylor: No…well maybe, but they are confused at the little explanation I actually ended up giving them))

((Lauren: Ah I see. Well, I'll be there in a bit. I'm almost done exploring anyway *sigh*))

((Taylor: Righty-o. Find the red blur and that's where I'll be.))

((Lauren: Aye.))

Taylor looked up from her phone and made a quick scan of the room, 'Seems that everything is going okay,' she thought, 'that's good...now where—'  
>"There you are!"<br>'Ah, found him...'  
>She walked over to where Grell was standing near the speakers, "I see you are finally enjoying yourself.<br>Grell flicked his hair over his shoulder, "I always enjoy myself, although it would be even better if Will wouldn't turn me down for a dance every time!"

"Aaaaw," She patted Grell on his shoulder, "someday perhaps, my friend."  
>Lauren silently returned as she slid in beside the stereo, "Would music with a little language be offensive to you, eh?"<br>"Who me, or Grell?"

"Either one of you...Actually, mostly you, I'm pretty sure Grell wouldn't mind."  
>"I think we'll be okay, I don't know about Will-"<br>"I'll handle Wiru," Grell interrupted.  
>Taylor sighed at the innuendo and proceeded to ram her head into the nearby speaker before considering that such a move might be unwise, "...Ow."<p>

Lauren looked at her with amusement, "Don't hurt yourself."  
>"Or the speaker!" They heard Ronald call.<br>"Thanks, Ronald." Lauren called back, "Well, I'm considering several selections from a certain band, and I really like this song...and it's somewhat appropriate. Personally, I think William-sama will appreciate it." She grinned.

Taylor glared at Ronald several yards away, "Oh that reminds me, several of the shinigami wanted to know how you discovered me Grell."  
>"Oh? Did you tell them?"<br>"I tried to be vague but you may be getting questions on how I managed to even remotely injure you." She grimaced.  
>Grell released a high laugh at the look on Taylor's face, "Not to worry. And go on with the music Lauren-chan. I'm sure it will be lovely!"<p>

Lauren broke into a devious grin as she started playing the next song.

Lauren pondered, "To tell the truth...even I do not know the full story of how you two met."

Grell went to his Cheshire grin as he exclaimed, "Aah! It was so unexpected! It all happened in the dark of night. We could only see by the light of the full moon!"  
>Taylor rolled her eyes and smacked Grell in the back of his head "Don't be so dramatic about it. It was an accident and there wasn't even a moon out that night!"<p>

"Oh, you guys..." Lauren chortled.

Grell rubbed his head as though the strike had actually hurt him, "Hee~ey! Not nice! I just thought I'd tell her."  
>"<em>I'll<em> tell her later, without embellishments," she huffed. "It wasn't that remarkable…barely a scratch." She turned to Lauren, "Later, but it involves a sleepless night and a box cutter."  
>"Oooh, a box cutter…"<p>

Grell touched the back of his hand to his forehead in a dramatic pose, "It was a grievous wound!"  
>"Hush it! I barely touched you and you laughed at me! Honestly!"<p>

Lauren laughed, "HA! You said 'honestly' too."

Taylor face-palmed, "Oh please say I didn't," she sighed, "I'm glad none of the others were around," she shook her head. "Their faces when they heard you say that…Oh! Did you happen across William?"

"Indeed I did. He was hiding out in a side room, actually. I told him he should come see _his_ party, and that everyone was enjoying themselves and it was pretty much under control. He just kind of nodded slowly before muttering something about 'maybe later.'"

Taylor shook her head sadly, "Grell and Ronald aren't even that drunk either, AND no one has tried to get Will drunk. I think we should spare him tonight," she laughed. "Poor guy has been through a lot in the last several months."

Lauren nodded, "Yeah, I was gonna say we should just let him be. Poooooor Wiru-sama..."

Grell chuckled, "He did do a lovely job,"

Taylor winked, "Even though we helped too?"  
>Grell raised his head, gesturing to the room at large, "It all came together rather nicely."<p>

Lauren nodded in agreement, "So, how much have you had to drink, Madam Sutcliff?"

Grell turned to the girl, affronted, "So unlike you to sour the mood Lauren! I haven't had THAT much. Hmph. Just a few glasses of wine, but I don't need to explain myself to you little human."  
>"Haha! Smooth Lauren," Taylor patted her human friend on the shoulder, "Although I was about to ask him the same thing." She studied Grell's face as he raised an eyebrow at her.<br>"I'd say about 4 and a half..."

Grell's eyes widened at her correct guess.

Lauren looked hurt, "I am offended."

"Aaaw why? He's just a bit moody from the wine."

"I guess so...that 'little human' thing just reminds me of another certain Debbie Downer..."

Realizing who she was referring to, Taylor replied, "We really should get him out here. It's after midnight after all. Any volunteers? If he protests we can tell him the longer he waits the creepier it's likely to get. One of us…or all of us should get William to at _least_ come out and be a wallflower instead of hiding." Taylor folded her arms. 

"Yeah...let's storm his hideout." Lauren agreed.  
>"All of us?"<br>"Why not?"

"Sweet, come on Gureru."

Lauren chuckled, "You don't have to tell him twice, I'm sure...Where are your new friends Taylor?"  
>"Oh yeah...well they were over at the coffee table with the cupcakes...don't know if they're still there, surely they've eaten those cupcakes by now."<p>

"Well, I'm glad they were tasty," Lauren smiled.

"Very delicious yes…Okay! Which side room?"

"Over in that corne—No, not that one. Yeaaah, THAT one, follow me."

Taylor gently pulled Grell along and became slightly aware of random, strange glances from some of the remaining shinigami. Lauren gave a little wave to the staring reapers and threw a questioning look at Taylor.

Taylor grinned, "Man they really aren't that used to live and happy humans are they? I suppose they only ever see the dying or dead up close..."

"...I realize how my reaction is always to wave." Lauren winced.

Taylor glanced back, "Yeah kinda, no big deal though."

"It allows me to avoid saying anything stupid."

"While _I_ on the other hand squeak, nearly pass out, _and_ usually say something stupid teheh…"  
>Grell leaped ahead of them and burst into the room, "WIRU!"<p>

William glanced up, slightly startled at the sudden entrance so late in the evening, and set the cup of coffee he was holding down on the counter. He pinched the bridge of his nose, "Oh no..."  
>"Yes. Oh yes. It's about time you quit avoiding all the fun, my good sir." Lauren grinned. Grell giggled. <p>

"I told you later..."  
>Taylor rolled her eyes, "It's <em>been <em>later Will. Come on, the chaperones aren't even really that drunk when compared to our last dinner."  
>William's eyebrow twitched at being reminded of his unwilling outing with this same group. Their collaboration had left him highly intoxicated and he had no wish to repeat the experience. He adjusted his glasses.<br>"It's a really fun party Wiru!" Grell walked over and linked his arm with his superior, "Come have some fun!"  
>William stiffened at the contact.<p>

"The longer you wait the creepier it is likely to get y'know," Taylor coaxed.

Lauren tried as well, "Come ooooon, pretty pleeeeeeease?"  
>William looked down at the human girl, "Begging just makes you look foolish."<br>"Hiding in a secluded room like a recluse makes YOU look foolish," Lauren countered. William glowered at her.

"Come ooooooon," Taylor grabbed Grell who was still holding Will, thus being able to pull William by proxy. "Would it make you feel better if you knew we AREN'T going to make you drink anything tonight?"

William made a brief grimace before going back to his usual frown.  
>Lauren smiled, "Was that a hint of...deliberation?"<br>William let out a sigh, "Fine."

"Ahn! You won't regret it Wiru!" Grell leaned on his shoulder.

"Somehow I doubt that."

"What an odd group we must be walking out of this room. Sorry if my list of coherent things to say is lacking, guys," Lauren apologized, "I had to get up at 6:40 to take a test. I'm running on about five hours of sleep."

Taylor, rather high on tired herself, agreed, "Indeed we are an odd group, but it's so late now that I don't care that a chunk of new shinigami are staring at the 4 of us coming out of this room!"  
>Grell was appalled, "My my! Lauren what are you doing running around on such little sleep? That is horrible for your looks!"<br>"Honestly, I knew this would be longer than scheduled. This should have ended an hour ago, honestly." William scowled.  
>"Well we can casually start cleaning a few things up then!" Taylor looked around the room. "Some of the reapers have already left anyway and more are heading out."<p>

"William, you just started and ended a sentence with 'honestly'…" Lauren shook her head, "I'm tired but I don't want to go home yet. Hmm, couch." At the sight of the nearby couch, she broke off from the group and promptly buried her face into the piece of furniture. "And sorry to disappoint you with my lack of beauty sleep, Grell."  
>William eyed the tired girl, "Well, it's a good thing you 'don't want to go home yet' because we all have a rather extensive cleanup project ahead of us."<br>Lauren's answer was muffled by the couch, "Yes...sssssirr..."

Taylor turned to the stoic man who was over a foot faller than herself, "How many times am I going to have to tell you to relax William? We'll get the job done, sheesh. They ate most of the food anyway. Grell, would you unhook yourself from your boss long enough to help me pick up loose trash and wake the few that have passed out to get them out of here?"  
>"Must you put an exhausted lady to work?"<br>"Greeeeeell…"  
>"Tch, oh fine." Reluctantly, Grell released his grasp on William's arm and walked off to begin the cleanup.<br>"Hm. You actually got him to agree to help." William adjusted his glasses yet again.  
>Lauren yawned and curled onto the couch, her tiredness becoming more evident in her words, "Ya gotta be <em>polite<em>, William-senpai..."  
>William turned to her, "And just what do you think <em>you're<em> doing?"  
>She stretched, "You know, I don't think you've ever even called me by my actual name." She did not move from her position on the couch, but suddenly she felt a warm body join her, "...? ...! R-RONALD...!"<br>Ronald curled up and made himself quite comfortable. He glanced up and gave a slightly-buzzed grin accompanied by a sloppy, half-hearted wave before forcefully smashing his head into a pillow.

Lauren glanced at the blonde, "I think he's had a little bit...ya know..."  
>Ronald groaned.<br>"Hmph. Ronald Knox, you should not be so careless with your actions."  
>"Mmmhmmm...whut evr y'say bosssssszzzzzzz..."<br>"Honestly..."  
>Taylor slumped, "Oh enough 'honestly's' for one evening eh? And don't look too much on me getting Grell to work. He's drunk, if only slightly, and I merely influenced him."<br>William looked around, "You seem the only one here who is both sober and awake..."  
>"Your point? Let Lauren be. She took care of helping you this whole time and getting the food. I'll clean up with Grell, although we do need to figure out how to get both Ron and Lauren home... <p>

"Of course, _my _transportation is intoxicated," Lauren poked the sleeping Ronald.

"What are you talking about? Grell is a bit out of it too, although not passed out thank goodness."

"Oh, yeah...Well I'm awake now, I promise. I'll help." Lauren sat up and quickly scooted over a little to create some space between the inebriated death god and herself.

"Is that everyone gone? ...No wait..."  
>"Eh?"<p>

"Henry is still over there in that chair by the window."

"Go poke him!" Lauren shouted. "...Sorry, I don't know what came over me."

"HA! No." Taylor called to the redhead, "Grell!"  
>"Hmm?"<p>

"One more over there and then you'll be almost done!"  
>"Not even close to finished..." William muttered.<br>"Yes, but in his condition _he _doesn't know that," she stuck her tongue out at him and turned away, "Yes, I did just stick my tongue out at you senpai."  
>William sighed, "Truly childish, but it is too late for me to really care at this point."<p>

She whipped her head around, "William-senpai! Not caring? I take that back, someone did give you a drink didn't they?"  
>William simply adjusted his glasses.<br>Taylor let the moment slide and faced the empty room, "Right then, and let us get a move on. It's not even that bad of a mess."  
>Lauren heaved herself up and off the sofa, "I'm comin'! What's the damage? Hm...There are some red plastic cups on the floor over there. And some cupcake crumbs right here."<br>"I shall retrieve the broom from the kitchen," William said.  
>Lauren saluted the head reaper. William raised an eyebrow and adjusted his glasses in acknowledgement before walking towards the kitchen.<p>

Over by the window, Grell tried to wake the sleeping shinigami, "Henreeeeeee? Wake up! Party's over, love."

Taylor nodded, "Oky doke, Grell has Henry covered. I shall start packing up the remaining food...or lack thereof. Gracious! I'm amazed beings that don't really _have _to eat, well, eat so much! They really are like college kids." She dragged a trashcan over to the table, "Nice that we can dispose of this main tablecloth too." She proceeded to wrap up the smaller bits of trash in the tablecloth, "And off you go!" She scampered back to the kitchen with a 'heehee!' as William walked by with the broom and tried very hard to ignore the human.

Henry started to stir, "Hnnn...S-Sutcliff-senpai...?"

"In the flesh," Grell giggled, "How much have you had to drink, hon?" The feminine man asked as he began to run a hand through the younger reaper's hair.  
>Henry looked up at the redhead bent over him and gulped, "Like...a glass, seriously. I'm not drunk. I'm just tired. I guess." He placed a hand behind his head, a little embarrassed.<br>"...Oh. Well, that's no fun." Grell stood up and crossed his arms, immediately disappointed that his previously-anticipated fun of messing with a tipsy Henry was over. "Party's over, though. Wiru says everybody out, in so many words."  
>"Ah."<br>Pretending she did not just see that discussion, Lauren whistled nonchalantly while she swept, "I guess shinigami are kinda like humans when they party. Indeed, just like college kids."

Taylor stopped wiping the table with the rag she had grabbed from the kitchen and shuffled over to Grell and Henry, "Grell could you please go get the cleaner off that top shelf for me in the kitchen?"  
>Grell eyed her and chuckled.<br>Taylor waved a dismissal at him, "Yes yes, I'm short I know, now shoo! Thank you." She turned to Henry, "Sorry, he's just a bit drunk."  
>Henry watched as Grell disappeared into the kitchen, "Uh...huh...well not your fault, heh."<br>"You may want to make yourself scarce soon unless you want Will telling you to help with the clean up."  
>Henry broke his gaze from Grell's direction and snapped back to himself, "Oh right...yeah, thanks. Certainly was an interesting time with you humans around. Never seen the bosses act so odd. We never would have taken them for befriending humans to this extent."<br>Taylor raised her arms slightly, "Well what can I say? People are always full of surprises. Glad you enjoyed yourself."  
>"Thanks, maybe we'll meet up again sometime!"<br>Taylor watched as the brunette reaper waved a farewell and made his way out of the building. She turned back to the others, "Alrighty! What's left?"

Lauren looked up, "Umm...I don't see anything else that's seriously damaged or in near danger of spontaneously combusting."

They ignored the mumbled "honestly" from You-Know-Who.

"Well, I'll just need to finish washing the tabletops," Taylor grabbed her rag from earlier and the cleaner Grell had retrieved, "Won't take but a minute. You are now free to go whenever my friend! With Ron out of commission though..." She eyed William.

Ronald looked up long enough to point and let out a comical little "HAHA" at William before he flipped over and tightly squeezed his pillow.

Taylor tried to stifle her laughter before she caught William looking at her and she coughed, "Well...is there anywhere we can put him?"  
>William looked at the subordinate curled on the couch, "Just leave him there. There is no point in trying to move him. He won't be late for work at least. I will wake him tomorrow at the appropriate time," then he glanced at the clock and promptly adjusted his glasses. "Make that later today."<br>"In that case I suppose you'll be taking Lauren home? We can't very well stay in the shinigami realm tonight."  
>"It can't be helped." William reluctantly agreed.<br>Lauren tapped her foot, "Weeeeell, you coooould lemme ask Undertaker for a lift. Then he'll just have to stay with me tonight anyway 'cause it'll be too late for him to come back home and whatnot." A smirk spread slowly across her face.

"Would that even work?" Taylor asked, remembering that Undertaker had returned to his place of business a couple months previously and they had no idea when he would return for a visit.  
>After a moment, Lauren shrugged and subsided, "This is just me being lonely. It's actually probably a bad idea...he needs to work."<p>

Feeling sorry for her friend, Taylor walked toward her intending to give her a hug, but Grell beat Taylor to it and gently wrapped his arms around Lauren's shoulders. Taylor stopped for a second before saying, "Aw what the heck," and kept walking and hugged both of them, firmly ignoring William's immense uneasiness.

However, Lauren stared intentionally at William to address his uneasiness as she said, "Thanks, guys."  
>William shifted uncomfortably, "Honestly, it is as though there are two Sutcliffs."<br>"Ugh!" Taylor released herself from the hug, "You just HAD to throw the 'honestly' in there didn't ya? Never mind. The child is tired," she poked Lauren, "even I'm a bit tired. Shall we head outwards? I'm done with these tables."

Lauren nodded, "Yup, I guess so. Bye, Ronald! Good to see you again!"  
>Ronald muttered something unintelligible and let out a rather loud laugh.<br>"...Uh-huh."

"Aaaw," Taylor walked over and poked Ronald, "I don't know why he always drinks so much just to have the massive hangover later...anyway," She turned to William, "Congrats William-senpai."  
>The stoic man raised an eyebrow.<br>"Well, this was _your _party after all and it went fairly decently. May have gone 3 hours over schedule but in the end what does it truly matter? At this point you can just get Lauren home and turn in yourself."  
>"You are lecturing me." William said flatly.<br>"Am I? Hmm, perhaps…I get talkative when I'm tired sometimes. Shall we shove off Grell?"  
>At that moment, Grell released a long yawn and swaggered to keep his balance.<br>"I take that as a yes."  
>Lauren looked at Grell a little worried, "Is Grell capable of transporting you in his condition? I don't think he's that bad off, but still. Heck, even Ron's not seriously drunk. He's not even spouting off nonsense like last time." She glanced at Ronald with some suspicion.<br>William followed her glance, "He is probably just letting on so as to get out of work in a few hours... I suppose he'll just have to deal with overt—"  
>"WAH, I'M UP! I'M UP!" Ronald jumped up, "Whoa..." He wavered and placed hand on his forehead before he sat down slowly, "...I'm down. Ugh, my head..."<br>William released a heavy sigh at Ronald's ridiculousness and shook his head, "Just go back to sleep, Ronald Knox."  
>Lauren yawned, "Mmmm, sleep. We all could use some."<br>"Indeed. I suppose I must ensure you get home safely now." William again adjusted his glasses.  
>Lauren looked up at William with a tired smile.<br>"I don't need to be put into a situation where I'd have to explain your disappearance to your relatives. And what that would do to your cinematic rec—"  
>"Okay, we get it, William. Why don't we just go, please," Lauren's smile turned to a grimace, "Oh yeah, and congratulations."<p>

Taylor studied the inebriated Grell, "Nah he can transport me just fine, might not be the most pleasant trip but I'm sure I'll survive. It's not like he's drinking and driving, haha! And thank you William. I won't torture you with a hug this time." She smiled.  
>William glared down at her, "How thoughtful."<br>"IIII'LL DO IT!" Grell skipped over and draped himself over William.

"Sutcliff, if you do not release me immediately I will not hesitate to give you a whole week of unpaid overtime."  
>"So cruel! You wouldn't really work me to death would you?"<br>"Don't test me, Sutcliff."  
>Taylor sighed, although she was slightly amused, "Cooome on Grell, we need to go home." She grabbed his arm and tried to peel him off of William, "And Lauren reeeeally needs to go home. Please?"<br>A dramatic sigh came from Grell before he answered, "Okay, let's go then..."

Lauren dragged herself along towards William. Taylor recognized the look on her human friend's face; she was desperately resisting the urge to lean on William and give up on walking altogether. "Goodbye Grell and Taylor. It was a very good night, no?"

"Indeed it was," Taylor whispered in Lauren's ear, "Aww, come on, go ahead and lean on him, he won't be able to do a thing about it!"

Lauren whispered back, "But Grell would get all jealous..."

"Psh! I don't think he'd consider you a threat. I'm sure he is smart enough to gather that William would never fall for a teenage human, HAA! Just do it."

"Grell tends to get more jealous-acting when he's under the _in-flu-ence_...Oh, I don't care right now." And she rested her head against William's arm.

William started at Lauren's uncharacteristic behavior and Taylor grinned at the man.  
>Grell slowly comprehended the scene before him, "He—"<br>Taylor whacked Grell in the gut, "Relax red one, and let's go home."

William tried to shift his position, "Please remove your head from my arm."  
>Lauren did not look up, "No."<p>

Taylor chuckled, "We've been nice to you all evening Will, deal with it."  
>"Mattaku..."<p>

"That counts too y'know."  
>William glared at her all while she grinned at him and waved, "Bye now, and get her home safely would ya? It would suck if she died."<p>

Lauren groaned, "I feel the love."

The four made to exit the building. A frustrated William continued to try and release himself from the human who was practically sleep-walking and Taylor prodded Grell every so often to keep him balanced. As they made it to the double doors, William reached out with his free arm to flick the light switch off and the room went black. The building was silent save for the snoring of a particular blonde-haired reaper who smiled in his sleep and hugged a pillow closer to his chest.

~DemonCatWithASpork ~

Here is where the fun truly came in! Believe it or not this part was the easiest to write up. That was mostly because I already had the all the dialogue saved from our RP. 99% of the dialogue is what was actually said on the 11th. That last 1% is tweaks so our readers would not get too confused.

To reiterate: This is how we talk and act in real life! I get really freaked out at parties and often have to sit in a corner to calm down. I do also like perching on furniture, like I did on the couch.

In regards to the alcohol names mentioned in the beginning, here is a little info on them:

Albesco is a white wine with complex flavors and a hint of _Gewurtztraminer_ (a white grape grown predominantly in France, USA, Germany, Australia and New Zealand).

Asti Spumante is a dazzling wine. It is the best choice for parties and celebrations.

Borodino is a red wine made of a grape mix from Italy.

Here are our references to the above: .com/blog/tag/europe-wine/ .com/english-wine-list/

Reading this part over together made for some interesting laughs. Here are a few:

"My straw! MY MILKSHAKE ATE MY STRAW!" (DemonCatWithASpork advises you not to edit your fanfiction and drink a milkshake at the same time)

"OH GOD! THERE'S NO PERIOD THERE!"

"It's like William's version of 'blargh!'"

"'Henry turned to his fellows'? I thought that was a typo…He suddenly became EXTREMELY British! Oh please add 'I say!' after that." – DemonCatWithASpork was not amused by DeathByCelloCase's humor -.-

Thank you DeathByCelloCase for helping me keep my grammar in line!

Oh and one other mention: the line where William begins and ends his sentence with "honestly" was a totally legit accident on my part (we were reeeeally tired by that point) so we just rolled with it heheh…

~ DeathByCelloCase~

I think this is my favorite part of the whole story. We had immense amounts of fun RP-ing this. All I have to say is… Oh, us.

I'm so glad this part was basically already written out for us. I'm grateful that it saved DemonCatWithASpork lots of time. She did tweak it a bit and we brainstormed on various fun little insertions, such as Grell and William's conversation about the "spirits" and some added Grell dialogue here and there courtesy of DemonCatWithASpork. Grell was being much too quiet, which is just wrong.

While we power played with the roles here, I gotta say I love RP-ing drunk Ronald! He is too ADORABLE. That's just my head canon version of how he might act when intoxicated, by the way. Re-reading those parts always brings a smile to my face. It's true: everybody loves Ronald Knox.

Oh, and many apologies to DemonCatWithASpork for unintentionally leaving her alone to deal with Ronald, Jake, Frederick, Henry, and Evan. Heh. And you, my dear little demonic feline, are MOST WELCOME for the grammatical assistance. Heil Grammar!

Well, that's all for now! We hope you enjoyed this crazy little tale. Welcome to our minds. They're scary places, aren't they? We know. You're welcome. Kidding, kidding. Thanks so much for reading, and be sure to leave us a comment telling us how you felt about our story. Later!

_**Interested in what happened in our actual RP? Post a question!**_

Kuroshitsuji and its characters belong to the amazing Yana Toboso

We do, however, own Leo, Issac, Jasper, Henry, Evan, Frederick, Jake, and ourselves ;)


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